


Curiosity

by ethershot



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Terushima’s tongue piercing, deserves its own tag tbh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-01-30 14:17:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 33,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21429583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ethershot/pseuds/ethershot
Summary: “Admit it, you’re wondering what it’s like to make out with a guy with a tongue piercing.” Terushima Yuuji smirked as he leaned in, brimming over with confidence.But she didn’t miss a beat. “We all know what curiosity did to the cat,” she smiled back. “I think it’s safe to say that some questions are fine unanswered.” Check.“Don’t you remember the rest of the saying? Curiosity may have killed the cat," he paused, meeting her gaze. "But satisfaction brought it back,” a wicked grin replaced the smug look on his face. “And you bet I can satisfy.” Checkmate.// on hiatus
Relationships: Terushima Yuuji/Original Character(s)
Comments: 46
Kudos: 72





	1. Seven & Eight

**Author's Note:**

> If you look up "self-indulgent writing" in the dictionary, it links you to this fic. I wrote this just for the sake of practicing writing for the first time in a while and decided I might as well upload it somewhere instead of just letting it rot in my hard drive. I've never even uploaded to AO3 before, but I guess now's a good a time as any. LOL Anyway, let's talk about Terushima Yuuji. What business does he have being like that? I mean, how dare he.

Ranking in the top ten for your whole grade was pretty good. Anyone would be happy to find their name near the top of the midterm results board.

Kikuchi Yuina.

It was right there, on the first page of many. A single-digit place next to her name. She now held the title of having the eighth highest grades of all the second years and Johzenji. It was a nice step up from the previous final exams when she had placed 14th. And she should have been happy. That was the keyword: should.

Her name at the top of the sheet felt completely overshadowed by the name in seventh place, right above hers.

Terushima Yuuji.

Every semester without fail, Yuina saw the same name sitting right on top of her own on the results board. Every. Single. Exam. It was infuriating! Terushima Yuuji! As in the infamous airhead-playboy-jock who was always playing hooky! How!?

They had been in different classes in the first grade, so Yuina had only heard the rumours. It wasn't until after winter break that year that she finally put a face to the name. To say it was a shock would be the understatement of the year. She couldn't believe that this gaudy, obnoxious and loud-mouthed jock was the one beating out all her test scores! He was bleach blonde, pierced and had way too much product in his hair. No way was this for real.

Unfortunately for Yuina, her stress levels took a turn for the worse in her second year. They were in the same class now. Heck, he sat right next to her now. She had to see him, up close, every single day for more than a third of her waking hours! He didn't even stay awake during class, and still, he scored better than she did. It was infuriating!

Brows knitting together, Yuina traced her finger over the board and followed the individual subject scores. She had done better in some subjects, but his total score was exactly one point higher than her own. One point. The difference between a single multiple-choice question.

A gentle hand on her shoulder snapped Yuina out of swirling thoughts in her head. "Yui-chan, you have that scary look on your face again..."

Yuina snapped out of it and relaxed her tensed muscles and turned to the taller girl behind her. The look on her face was still one of displeasure. "Kaori, it's not fair!" she wailed, pointing at the two names right next to each other.

The taller girl, Fujiwara Kaori, sighed and gave a hapless smile. "Your scores keep going up, but so does Terushima-kun's, huh?" To be fair, it was probably a mystery to the entire student body. Terushima Yuuji doesn't quite strike anyone to be the studious type. "There's just no winning against natural geniuses, Yui," Kaori joked as she steered her best friend away from the board.

Yuina opened her mouth to protest, but the words fell short at the sight of the familiar slicked blonde hair.

"Ohhh, look at you Terushima! Number 7, that's our captain!" the brown-haired boy next to him said in a loud voice, elbowing the blonde in the ribs. His name escaped Yuina, but she recognized him as one of the volleyball team members along with the darker haired boy walking with them.

The darker haired boy, she recognized him as Takeharu Futamata from the same class, piped up. "Didn't you just get put on cleaning duty for sleeping in class last week?" He laughed.

Yes, he did! That was precisely why Yuina couldn't figure out how he made the kind of grades he did. Taking a deep breath, she did her best to pay the trio no mind as she tried to slip past them in the hallway. She tried to avoid eye contact, but it was too late.

"Yuina-chan~" The blonde boy jogged up gleefully, hands in his pockets. "You did well again this time!" And this was the most infuriating part of all this, the fact that he sounded genuinely impressed every damn time he praised her grades.

'Don't stare at me so intently,' Yuina thought to herself as she averted her gaze. "Well, you did better," she had to make an active effort to not sound bitter, "as usual. So, congrats." She turned and tugged on Kaori's arm, motioning toward the courtyard.

Kaori gave a polite smile in recognition as she slipped past the boys following after her friend.

"You should tutor me sometime!" There it was, the Terushima brand pick-up line. How was this frivolous flirt always outperforming her!?

Yuina turned around sharply on her heels and shot the blonde a forced, tight-lipped smile. "Oh, please, I wouldn't even have anything to teach you." Without bothering to wait for a response, Yuina turned back around and pushed Kaori along toward the courtyard.

She was vaguely aware of his voice in the distance. "Man, tsunderes are so cute~" Ugh. Tsundere? Who?

Kaori gave a weak chuckle as the two girls finally got out of earshot of the volleyball team boys. "He just interprets things however he wants, huh?" That was one way to put it, for sure.

"How does someone like that even exist?" Yuina asked, holding her head between her hands. "When's the last time you've seen someone so glib and cocky and frivolous?" And how was he so smart? She had refused to believe those were really his grades when she first saw him for herself, but you can't consistently fake your grades. Not for two whole years. She was forced to accept the reality that for whatever reason, Terushima Yuuji was... dare she say it? Intelligent.

* * *

It was a well-accepted fact that teenagers don't tend to take "self-guided study" all too seriously. Even Yuina considered it a quiet break where you just don't get to leave your desk. Most students, however, still tended to sit at their desks and, at least, pretend to study in case the teachers made their rounds. Terushima Yuuji wasn't most students. As evidenced by the smartphone open to a mobile game in plain sight atop his desk.

As if that wasn't bad enough, he was gently tapping the corner of her desk for attention. "Yuina-chan," he whispered. Yuina pretended not to hear and continued rewriting her notes. "Yu-i-na-chan," he whispered right next to her face, his lips nearly grazing her earlobe. The chair screeched as Yuina jumped to her feet in surprise, causing heads to whip around in equal shock.

"What are you doing!?" she demanded in a loud whisper, flustered as she covered her ear with one hand. Oh god, he was practically blowing into her ear. What was he thinking?

"Ahaha!" He gave a peal of boisterous laughter that filled the classroom, and their classmates smiled and wrote it off as typical Terushima antics. "Oh man, if I knew you could jump four feet into the air like that, I would have recruited you into the volleyball team!" He slapped his leg, eyes watering from the joy. 

Yuina's brows knitted together; it wasn't that funny. She pulled her chair back in closer to her desk and picked up her pencil, only to find Terushima's smartphone shoved in her face.

"You should do this gacha pull for me," he grinned, holding the phone over her notebook.

Yuina gauged his expression. "Will you let me study after?"

"Yeah, yeah! Just one pull! I've had the worst luck lately," he sighed as he placed his phone in her hands. She watched him carefully out of the corner of her eyes as she turned the phone in her hands. "Oh, and you can put your number in there while you're at it~" As if she hadn't heard that one before.

"Mm, no deal," the brunette replied with a smile as she tapped the "draw" button and promptly turned the phone back to her deskmate. Now to get back to peace and quiet--

"YUINA-CHAN?" Terushima's voice cut through the entire classroom again. "Are you a goddess? Maybe even Lady Luck herself!?" His eyes gleamed in excitement as he clutched his phone to his chest. He then turned it around and thrust it in her face for her to see. "Three SSRs in a single pull!?" A bunch of icons of anime girls floated on the screen. "You even brought my best girl home!"

This was that gacha game her little brother played, right? Was that a good thing? Three SSRs? Three out of what? She would have to ask Sakuya when she got home. "Um, congrats?" Then again, her brother acted pretty similarly with videogames too. Good for him if he's happy about it, she supposed.

Terushima suddenly put his phone aside and clamped both of Yuina's hands in his. "Yuina-chan if you can pull this off again, I'll do whatever you want. So please, do another pull for me when the banner changes next week!" Was he even speaking English anymore? "I'll treat you to ice cream! No wait, melonpan? Oh! Bubble tea? Whatever you want!"

"You really don't owe me anything," she laughed awkwardly under all his energy. "I just clicked a button, it's really not a big dea--"

But he didn't let her finish. "This is HUGE, this doesn't just happen to people!" The blonde picked up his phone again but the classroom door slid open loudly.

Takeuchi-sensei appeared in the doorway, red-faced and upset. "Terushima! Put your phone away!" 


	2. (Definitely not) Envy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breaking news: girl talk in Class 5 reveals Kikuchi Yuina is Definitely 100% NOT envious of Terushima Yuuji.

"Let me get this straight," Kaori held up her hands in confusion. "You're avoiding Terushima because he's trying to get you to play a gacha game?"

"Why would he want you to play a gacha game?" the third girl sitting at the desk, Sakurai Sana, chimed in.

Yuina let out a small groan. "No, it's not that. He keeps asking me to do a pull for him or something." She had asked her brother about the game when she had gotten home that day, and it honestly just struck her as more of a gambling problem than a videogame.

Kaori frowned and leaned into her hand. "So why don't you? I mean, it sounds simple enough."

"Because he's _ loud _." Yuina held her head in her hands. Almost everything he did had to be a scene. Anytime he called her name it was loud enough to turn heads within a fifty-feet radius. Sana and Kaori looked at one another and shrugged, there was no denying that Terushima was a bit much.

"But knowing Terushima, do you think he'd forget about it and give up?" Sana laughed uncomfortably. Oh, no, she was right. The tenacity that was Terashima Yuuji was almost terrifying. There were even rumours about a first-year who had transferred schools because Terushima wouldn't stop harassing him to join the volleyball team. Yuina was fairly certain that it was just a rumour, but knowing Terushima Yuuji, it wouldn't come as a shock if it turned out to be a true story.

The brunette shuddered at the thought. "Don't scare me like that!" she whined, playfully slapping Sana on the back. She then tented her fingers ominously and leaned into Kaori's desk. "But if it comes down to it, I'll have to deal with him somewhere quiet."

"Yui, you're starting to sound like a criminal..." Kaori wore a wry grin as she pondered her friend's choice of words. The three girls giggled at Yuina's uncharacteristic attempts to sound sinister.

Unfortunately, moments of peace were fleeting at Johzenji High. "Yuina-chan, are you here?" A loud and all too familiar voice came booming from the hallway. In moments, the doorway to class 5 was crowded with three teenage boys from the volleyball team. Terushima Yuuji scanned the classroom before finding his target seated near the front of the room with two other girls. His face lit up in an animated grin as he waved his arm.

"Wow, speak of the devil," Sana muttered, just loud enough for the girls to hear. She waved at the two boys accompanying Terushima. "If it isn't Bobata and Futamata! You up to no good?" Sana nudged the tall brown-haired boy as he approached the desk. The tall boy, Bobata(?), bantered playfully with Sana.

Yuina briefly wondered why she was on such friendly terms with the two before remembering that they were in the same class as Sana. Sana seemed to get along with just about everyone though, so she really shouldn't have been surprised.

Kikuchi Yuina had other things to worry about, however. Like Terushima who had helped himself to a seat at the now cramped desk by pulling up an empty chair from next to her. Oh, God, why was he sitting down? She came to have lunch in class 5 precisely to avoid Terushima. She shot Kaori a look that screamed SOS, but the taller girl just gave a sheepish shrug.

Putting on her most professional polite smile, Yuina turned to the blonde boy sitting next to her. "Did you need something, Terushima-kun?"

"C'mon, don't tell me you forgot," he chuckled as he fished his phone out of his pocket. "The new banner went up this morning!" His eyes were sparkling as he pulled up the mobile game app. He held his phone out in both hands, an expectant smile on his face. It almost made him look… endearing. You know, kind of like seeing a child get overjoyed at a new toy.

"I honestly don't think something like last time will happen again," Yuina said sheepishly, her body ever so slightly leaning away from his. As far as her brief research revealed, the odds of what she had pulled off were extremely slim. And "luck" was just a pretty term used to dress up the real world of numbers and probability.

"The triple SSR, right?" Futamata chirped from across the small desk. "That's pretty amazing. Isn't that like using up all your luck for the year in one go?" He swiped through his own phone absentmindedly.

Terushima had other ideas about Yuina's apparent ability to overcome probability. "Just watch, I know Yuina-chan is my goddess of victory." She could practically envision the tail wagging behind him. Oh, so that's what he reminded her of. Her neighbour's Shiba Inu. Yuina was so wrapped up in this newly formed connection that she had hardly noticed him picking up her finger and guiding it to his phone.

"Wait!" She snapped out of her daze at the last minute.

"Yuina-chan, banzai!" He tapped her finger against the screen.

The three boys leaned in over the small screen of the smartphone and Yuina covered her eyes with her hand. She braced herself for sounds of disappointment.

"Huh!? You serious?" Bobata's chair squeaked as he jumped to his feet. "Dude, for real?"

Yuina opened one eye, peeking through the gaps of her fingers at the expressions of others. Bobata looked completely taken aback, whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, she couldn't tell. Kaori looked… just as confused as she was. Sana and Futamata looked mildly surprised? She couldn't see Terushima's face because he was sitting right next to her.

Yuina groaned. "I told you, there's no way something that unlikely will happen twice in a--"

"I knew it!" Terushima turned to her, ecstatic. His phone displayed ten floating icons like the last time, and yet, only one of the ten had a gold frame this time. Huh, wasn't that worse?

"Seriously? Both the limiteds on your first draw?" Futamata groaned, holding his head in his hands. "I saved gems for four months and I got nothing!"

Kaori was, thankfully, just as lost as Yuina was in the situation. "Um, isn't it technically worse than last time if only one of them is gold?"

"A common misconception, Fujiwara," Terushima clicked his tongue and wagged his finger. Sana and Bobata nodded along from across the desk. "But if you look closer, you see that the SSR and the second SR are limited edition summer units that are only available once a year." There it was again, that foreign language.

"Eh, so it's actually really rare?" Kaori responded as if that gibberish had made perfect sense to her. The brunette furrowed her brows. Even Kaori was starting to sound like she understood what was going on. Was she the only one who didn't get the situation here?

Just as suddenly as he barged in, Terushima Yuuji abruptly rose to his feet. "Anyway, I'm a man of my word, Yuina-chan," he announced. "You have until after school today to think of what you want. My treat!" The boys were already disappearing down the hall.

Yuina stared blankly at the vacant chair next to her. "I feel like I just got hit by a hurricane."

"Hurricane Terushima?" Sana mused, testing out the words. Kaori and Yuina gave a small laugh at the idea. "What's he talking about with the after school thing?" Sana asked as she pulled her chair back in closer.

Yuina shrugged. "He's insisting he'll treat me to ice cream for," she made a vague motion with her hands. "For whatever that was just now." The brunette sighed, the exhaustion of Hurricane Terushima hitting her all at once. He was so high-energy that dealing with him almost always left her social batteries drained. "I really just want to go home and rest."

"I think we just saw proof there's no hiding from Terushima Yuuji," Kaori mused, seemingly entertained by her friend's predicament. She wasn't wrong. If he was willing to actively hunt her down during their lunch break, there was no guarantee that her journey home would be safe either. Yuina shuddered at the idea.

It was at this point that Sana had posed the question. The one that, although she didn't realize it then, set off a butterfly effect in changing her whole life perspective. And maybe, it was in trying to answer this question that her relationship with Terushima Yuuji slowly began to shift into an unexpected direction.

"What's so bad about him anyway?"

The question was so harmless and yet Yuina found herself unable to put together an answer. She hemmed and hawed with her arms folded over her chest, trying to put into words what seemed to make sense in her head.

"It's not so much that there's something 'bad' about him," she began slowly as if still trying to choose her following words. After a short but careful consideration, Yuina spoke with a defeated smile. "I'm just not good with people like him. I don't think he seems like a bad guy, but you know… he doesn't take things seriously, gets super loud and full of himself, has absolutely no filter or tact, he's always surrounded by crowds, doesn't have a single worry in the world, and don't even get me started on his grades."

"Ah, so it's envy," Sana said with a smirk.

"So it is," Kaori joined in with a look to mirror Sana's.

"I am not jealous Terushima Yuuji." Yuina crossed her arms, a look of slight irritation crossing her face. What would she have to be jealous of him for?

Giggling, Kaori threw her arm over Yuina's shoulder and pulled her close. "It can't be helped that our Yui-chan is bad with strangers, always stressed out with worries and scoring below that carefree Terushima~"

Alright, when she put it that way _maybe_ it could _potentially_ sound like she was envious of their differences to some people. But that definitely was not what this was. Sure, she wasn't naturally magnetic like Terushima or even Sana, but she got along with people decently! And what was wrong with having some worries? Some people can't afford to lead carefree lives. Some people have their futures to think of or little siblings to take care of!

Pouting, Yuina shook off Kaori's arm. "I am _ NOT _ jealous of Terushima Yuuji."

Sana and Kaori seemed unconvinced, however. They gave her matching Cheshire grins as they pretended to shrug and accept her statement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually shocked there are comments or even kudos on this. Thank you for enjoying my self-indulgence and enabling my bad behaviour as a result? sdjfhksdf I honestly don't know what to say, thank you.... ; w; Terushima seems like he'd whale in mobages until you remember he's in high school, and sure he likes fun but he's not so stupid as to lack foresight. So he's probably pretty decent about being mostly F2P. Better than me anyway.


	3. Caramel apple strudel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Terushima initiates and unsolicited game of Twenty Questions.

"Psst."

A harsh whisper cut through the dull hum of the history lesson. Grey eyes turned to the side, coming to rest upon the blonde boy hiding his phone behind a sloppily propped up textbook.

Ducking under the top of his badly crafted book barrier, Terushima whispered, "Did you think about what you want yet?" He tapped away at the game on his phone as the teacher dragged on about the significance of the Meiji Restoration. Was it really too much to ask that he'd forget about his promise—and her—so that Yuina could go back to her peaceful daily life?

"I really don't need anything," Yuina offered with a smile.

Of course, polite refusals were nothing to the storm that was Terushima. "Aww, c'mon, there's gotta be something you like, right?" He leaned in against his hand, turning his body and attention toward her. "What kind of snacks do you like?" The grin on his face gave her the premonition of more troublesome days to come. "Hmm, candy?" he guessed, checking for some form of answer in her expression. "Or, no wait, cheesecake? Ice cream?"

"I'm not really picky about food," Yuina sighed, hoping to discourage his little guessing game. Of course, Terushima Yuuji wasn't one to be so quickly discouraged. After all, not being picky didn't mean she didn't have a favourite food.

By the time the final bell rang to mark the end of the school day, Terushima had cycled through at least four dozen kinds of foods in an attempt to narrow down Yuina's tastes.

"Manju?"

Yuina simply let out a deep breath as she slipped her arms through the sleeves of her blazer. Next to her, Terushima was also gathering his things. Maybe he had volleyball practice today, she pondered as she eyed the duffle bag he picked up in addition to his school bag.

"Imagawayaki?"

She slung her bag over one shoulder and pushed her chair neatly into her desk. If he has to go to volleyball practice, that should mean she should be free in just a few minutes. All she had to go was keep it together for just a few more minutes until they got to the shoe lockers.

"Dorayaki? No, wait, it's gotta be Taiyaki!"

He was definitely falling into a weird pattern here. Did he take her for some neighbourhood grandpa? "Honestly, like I said," Yuina interjected, hoping to put an end to this strange game of twenty (or rather, two hundred) questions. "I'm not that picky, I'll take whatever. Besides, you really don't owe me anything."

She slipped off her white indoor shoes and traded them for the shiny black mary janes sitting in her shoe locker. Terushima had his back turned to her, fishing out his own sneakers from the locker opposite Yuina's.

"It completely defeats the purpose if it's not something you like!"

Yuina's attention briefly jumped to the colourful poster hanging on the wall. 'Back in season at MiniMart! Caramel Apple Strudel! Limited Daily Stock.' Ah, so they were back now. But it would be hard to stop by in the mornings between getting Sakuya to school. Maybe she could stop by on the weekend.

"Yuina-chan," a disappointed voice calling her name brought her focus back to reality. "You weren't listening to anything I just said, were you?" It was more of a statement of fact than a question.

She felt a small twinge of guilt and gave a sheepish smile in return. "Sorry, I just… uh, was thinking about having to pick up my little brother on my way home." It wasn't wrong, she was going to pick up Sakuya on her way home.

As if to answer her silent prayers, some unfamiliar voices came up from behind. "Terushima! Are you headed to practice?" Yuina briefly registered the strangers as more members of the volleyball team, maybe third years?

Taking the opportunity to politely duck out, Yuina quietly slipped away from the approaching group. "See you tomorrow, Terushima-kun." She gave a quick wave and turned for the exit before he might say anything else. A successful escape.

What she didn't notice was the blonde boy's eyes travelling from her back to the poster he had caught her staring so intently at.

* * *

"You look terrible." Before Yuina stood a brown-haired boy with the same grey eyes as herself. Despite being four years younger in his first year of middle school, Sakuya had hit his growth spurt just a few weeks ago near the end of spring and was already a little taller than his sister.

The older of the Kikuchi siblings groaned as she turned away from the gates of the middle school. "You don't need to tell me twice." She felt like keeping up with Terushima's little guessing game had aged her at least half a decade. "Stay away from troublesome people in school, Sakuya, it's bad for your health."

"Okay?" The younger boy frowned, perplexed as to where this unsolicited life advice was coming from. He carefully peered at his older sister's expression. "You sure you're okay?"

As well-behaved as he was for a twelve-year-old boy, Sakuya really didn't mince his words. "I'm fine," Yuina replied feeling defensive in response to his tone. "I'm just dealing with someone a little tiresome at school." She could practically hear Terushima Yuuji's boisterous laughter at the mere thought of him.

"Why not just stop, then?" Sakuya questioned, genuinely confused by his sister's dilemma. 

Sakuya had a point; Yuina was usually pretty good at avoiding situations that she deemed too much to handle. If she couldn't get along with someone, she would put a respectful distance between herself and the person in question. If she didn't want to attend a social gathering, she would politely excuse herself with a well-crafted excuse.

But Hurricane Terushima was different. "Little Sakuya-chan," she began, all too aware of how the nickname would drive her little brother up a wall. "Some things in life are just unavoidable, it's a part of becoming an adult." She was lying out the nose.

Sakuya, however, was too offended by the belittlement to pay attention. "I'm taller than you are," he mumbled with a scowl. "And I'm in middle school now, I'm hardly a kid anymore."

A warm smile took up its place on pink lips as Yuina peeked over at her little brother's face reddening in juvenile irritation. "Ah, right, my bad. You're almost a  _ teenager  _ now," she stressed the word to poke fun at the younger boy. Had she been like that at that age too? It was probably more of a complex for Sakuya considering he was so used to everyone telling him how mature he was. But his moments of childishness didn't go unnoticed by family.

She reached up to ruffle his hair and the boy yelped. "You are so embarrassing! Why can't you act like a high schooler!" Sakuya scolded her as he swatted her hands away.

"Ah! Did you hear," Yuina jumped, remembering the poster from earlier. "MiniMart has those caramel apple strudels from last summer again. Should we get you one on the way to school tomorrow?" She grinned mischievously.

The younger boy rolled his eyes at his sister's thinly veiled plot. "If I wanted to eat an apple, I would eat an apple instead of trying to find it grossly cooked into a pastry." He made a face as if to drive home his disdain.

Yuina gave a small shrug, it was worth a shot, right? She'll just wait until the weekend.

Or so she had thought. When Kikuchi Yuina got to school the next morning, a plastic-wrapped caramel apple strudel tumbled out of her shoe locker. She held the pastry in her hand, staring at it so a solid minute in confusion before reasoning it must have been from Kaori. Who else would bother dropping by a convenience store first thing in the morning to get her a treat?


	4. Captain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Terushima gets another yellow card for casual sexual harassment.

Whether it was the early morning boost in sugar or the fact that Terushima Yuuji was cutting class, Yuina felt particularly productive for once. It felt like the first day of peace in a while, not having someone poking at her for attention in the middle of class. She looked down at her notebook in satisfaction, the page was lined with neat handwriting that was tactically spaced. It was easiest to get things done in peace and quiet, after all.

A peaceful half-day followed by a quiet afternoon attending to her health committee duties. The brunette hummed to herself in the empty nursing office as she organized medical supplies. Having no visitors made the minutes feel a little longer, but the nurse who was charged with counselling and the health committee didn't mind letting Yuina study or read in her free time.

"Kikuchi-san?"

Yuina's head whipped around at the call of her name. "Yes, sensei?" she responded with a smile, putting away the last roll of gauze away into the plastic container. She clicked the lid shut and tucked the container away on the shelf.

"Could you run an errand for me on your way home?" the woman in the white robe inquired, holding up a clear envelope that appeared to hold some forms inside.

"Of course!" Yuina replied with no hesitation.

The health counsellor smiled as she handed the PVC envelope to the small brunette before her. "A few members of the boys' volleyball team hasn't submitted their noncompulsory health assessment consent forms," she explained as Yuina peered into the clear envelope. "It's something they added for students in physical activities clubs this year but it hasn't really caught on yet." The older woman sighed.

Reading over the names written on the pink post-it note affixed to the front of the envelope, Yuina wasn't surprised that the faculty hadn't head back from some of these boys yet. Of course, the troublemakers of the volleyball team would neglect to turn in documentation.

"You can just drop them off with their coach or manager," the counsellor gave a defeated smile. "I don't really expect to get back signed forms but it's not bad to try, right?"

Hamasaki Akina was one of few people that Yuina had considered a role model. She genuinely looked out for her students and unconditionally had their best interests at heart. To see that Hamasaki-sensei looking as if she had given in to some teenage hooligans was downright frustrating.

Yuina clutched the envelope to her chest and her eyes burned with a kind of fire that was rarely present. "I'll have all of them back signed within a week!"

Her declaration caught the health counsellor off her guard, but the older woman smiled at the look for determination in the teenage girl's face. "Don't worry too much about it, I just figured you could drop them off at the gym on your way home."

"No, I'll make sure they turn them in!" the brunette stressed, picking up her cardigan and bag. "Hamasaki-sensei, I won't let you down!" She was already out the door and beelining down the hallway toward the main gates. Yuina briefly glanced at the watch on her wrist. She wasn't all too familiar with what time volleyball practice ended, but if it was anything like the girls' tennis club, the boys would be starting to tidy up around now.

Now that she was actually standing at the gymnasium's entrance, Yuina was beginning to wonder if her previous declaration had been such a good idea. Her earlier determination seemed to chip at the edges at the of sound loud voices and shoes squeaking from within the gym.

She was starting to wonder if she should just hand the forms over to the team's advisor in the faculty office when a female voice interrupted her concentration. "Um, do you have any business here?" A girl with blunt bangs and round brown eyes watched her from the doorway. Judging from her tracksuit, she must have been the team's manager.

Forcing herself to get her act together, Yuina offered the girl a bright smile. "Are you the team's manager?"

The girl with the hazel hair seemed to blank at the question for a moment before jumping to full attention. "Y- yes! I'm the manner! Er, manager!" The doe-eyed girl stammered, cheeks flushing red from the shame of her flub

Something about seeing someone who was more anxious than herself calmed Yuina's nerves. Although she hadn't meant to laugh at the girl, she stifled a small chuckle into the back of her hand.

"I'm sorry! I just recently took over as the manager and I'm just a first-year with no experience, but if there's anything I can do for you, I'll do my best!" She was still stumbling over her words, but Yuina admired the gusto.

Yuina gave a reassuring smile. "I shouldn't have laughed, I'm sorry," she apologized. "I'm Kikuchi Yuina from the health committee". The older girl held her hand out to the younger one in front of her.

"Kuribayashi Runa, it's a pleasure to meet you, Kikuchi-senpai." Runa seemed to have calmed down a little as she shook the hand extended to her.

Pointing at the envelope in her hand, Yuina began to explain. "I have consent forms for the noncompulsory health assessment for some of the members of your club." Some of the troublemakers, to be more precise. This poor first-year sure did have her work cut out for her, Yuina mused. Although she had been considering pawning off the forms to anyone in charge of the club, she now felt terribly guilty at the prospect of forcing that responsibility on this poor first-year girl. "Is it alright if I—"

Her words were cut short by a familiar voice. "Is someone here?" Terushima Yuuji appeared around the corner of the open doorway. His jaw hung open at the unfamiliar sight of Kikuchi Yuina waiting by the gymnasium. The look of surprise on his face was quickly replaced with a mischevious smirk. "Yuina-chan? Don't tell me you came all this way to see me?"

There was no hiding the annoyed look on the brunette's face and Runa's eyes simply darted back and forth between the two second-years as she struggled to come to an explanation.

Forcing a tight-lipped smile, Yuina turned to the blonde boy leaning against the doorframe. "I'm actually here on official business for the health committee," she said, holding up the envelope.

"Captain? Is something up?" More voices came from within the gym and a few other boys that Yuina only vaguely recognized as second-years from other classes appeared behind Terushima. But more importantly, "captain"?

Confused, Yuina pointed a finger at her womanizing slacker deskmate and spoke, "Captain?"

The blonde gave a wide, proud grin. "Lemme guess, you're seeing me in a new light now? I seem a lot more dependable and cool? You're free to fall for me anytime, you know," he said, his tone oozing conceit. At least she didn't have to risk seeing him in a different light so long as he kept up that Terushima brand narcissism.

"Oh, I don't think we have to worry about that anytime soon," she smiled back, wielding wit as her sole weapon against him.

But Terushima gave her an unbothered look of confidence. "You want to make a bet on that?" And though the two smiled at each other, the tension felt thick enough to cut with a knife to the volleyball team members watching the exchange.

It was Runa who carefully broke the silence. "Um, are the two of you… friends?"

"Of course!" "No."

Yuina shot a sharp look toward Terushima at their opposing answers. She then cleared her throat and turned to the younger girl watching them, perplexed. "We're just classmates," she clarified, her expression softening as she spoke to the girl.

"Just classmates?" Terushima echoed, disappointed. "Even though we spend hours and hours in close proximity brushing up against each other?" A suggestive hoot went up among the boys of the volleyball team and Runa's entire face turned a deep red. 

"Terushima-kun, would you please not say misleading things?" Yuina smiled as she struggled to restrain her brow from twitching.

Much to her chagrin, Terushima burst into laughter. Again, Yuina could feel her stress levels rising. "I guess sweets for breakfast is paying off!" he laughed heartily. When the laughter subsided, however, the smile on Terushima's face was surprisingly warm and free of its usual arrogance. (And only for a second she almost thought her heart skipped a beat.) "You seem more energetic today, that's good."

And for whatever reason, she became acutely aware of the buzzing of cicadas and the slight hear in the summer air. Or was the heat in her cheeks?

"Eh, isn't the atmosphere nice? Should we leave you two alone?" Bobata whistled, a smug look on his face.

Ugh, were those three monkeys all the same? Yuina shot a glare toward the tall brown-haired boy. Pulling a sheet out of her envelope, she thrust it in his face. "Bobata-kun, perhaps you could use your free time filling in this form?" Although she smiled and spoke light-heartedly, there was a menacing undertone to her voice. "And maybe you could hand this one to Futamata-kun?"

With a gulp, Bobata accepted both sheets of paper without so much as a squeak.

"Terushima-kun?" The brunette smiled as she held out a form before the blonde boy. "If you need pens, I have some in my bag."

The captain of the volleyball team pinched the corner of the sheet as he examined it. "What's this?"

"Ah, it seems they're consent forms for the voluntary health assessments," Runa explained. "Misaki-senpai handed them out after the Spring High Representative Playoffs." The look on the boys' faces didn't hint to any form of recollection.

Terushima held his chin in his hands. "Hm, so it's a physical check-up?"

"That's the gist of it," Yuina shrugged and held a pen out toward the blonde before her.

An amused look crossed his face as Terushima reached out for the pen. He took hold of the pen but let his hand rest over Yuina's, his fingers grazing against her skin. "I wouldn't mind if you were the one giving me a full physical."

There it was again, the feeling that her blood pressure was going up. Any more of this and surely, Kikuchi Yuina would age prematurely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, holding up cute minor characters who get no spoken lines: I just think they're neat. Basically, I just really think Runa is cute and wanted to put her in here somewhere.


	5. The road home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PSA from Terushima Yuuji: Don't eat food from strangers.

Several questions ran through Yuina's mind as she stood in front of the boys' volleyball club room. Like, why was she waiting there? No, really, why was she waiting there? Just because Terushima had told her to? Since when did she listen to his requests so well? Because he vanished into the room before she had a chance to decline or leave? She could have just left after he went inside, but also something about leaving behind someone's back just didn't sit well with her. Even if it was Terushima Yuuji we were talking about.

At the same time, Terushima didn't seem the type to take it all too personally if she were to just go home and apologize later. More importantly, why did he even tell her to wait to begin with?

"Sorry, I'm good now." Terushima appeared from within the club room, his shorts swapped out for track pants. He tossed the keys over to one of the boys in the room and asked them to lock up as he hoisted his duffle bag over his shoulder.

He was really the captain, wasn't he? That was so strange. Terushima Yuuji never really struck her as the leadership type. Wait, no, maybe there was something. Like how little boys on the playground always followed the loudest most reckless boy. Although more than little boys on a playground the Johzenji volleyball team reminded her more of… a pack of monkeys. Would that make Terushima king of the monkeys?

The blonde peered down at the far off look in Yuina's eyes and waved a hand before her face. "You good?" the blonde asked.

Her focus snapped back to the present and she straightened up and instinctively leaned away from the hand near her face. "Um, why did you need me to wait?" Yuina inquired, all while mentally calculating her escape.

"These," Terushima Yuuji held out three filled out consent forms before her eyes as if answering the most obvious question in the world. "You needed them signed, didn't you?" He tilted his head to the side. "I made sure those guys wouldn't just take them home and forget about it."

Yuina stared. Had he just done something remotely responsible and captain-like? That Terushima? Dumbfounded, she accepted the thin stack of sheets. "Thank you," she murmured, her voice growing quiet in confusion.

The perplexed look on her face didn't escape his gaze. "Did you just think I was dependable?" The usual impish smile returned to his face as Terushima put his hands on his hips and leaned in toward Yuina's averted face.

Quickly depositing the clear envelope in her bag, Yuina gave a small huff to mask the fact that he had read her like a book. "Have you ever thought about not letting your imagination run too wild in that mind of yours?"

"The only thing running through my mind is you."

He was absolutely insufferable! Yuina turned on her heel to hide her face and quickly made for the stairs. "Anyway, I have the forms. I'm heading home now!" she announced loudly, walking away from the boy. How does anyone just open their mouth and say those kinds of things?

The blonde boy wasn't discouraged in the slightest as he chased the girl down the steps. "I'll walk with you!" There was most likely, no getting out of his offer—as usual.

So instead, Yuina let out a small defeated sigh as Terushima matched her pace. He might follow her all the way home if she tried too hard to deter him. It was probably safest, and less stressful in the long run, to play along for a little bit. "I'm headed toward Nishi park," she said in a last-ditch hope that maybe he lived in the opposite direction.

"Cool, I'll get on the train at Omachi, then." Yuina smiled wryly, to herself. At least her predicament wasn't for lack of trying. To her surprise, Terushima sprang an unexpected question on her. "Those little pie things, are they that good?"

She looked up at him, eyes wide in confusion. "Pies?" she repeated, but her train of thought was already headed in a strange direction. Like strudels? Hadn't he also said something strange earlier about sweets for breakfast? It must have been a strange coincidence, there was no way for him to know about the apple strudel… Right?

"That little apple pie thing from the MiniMart," he explained as he made a little shape with his hands. "Man, I stopped by first thing on the way to morning practice and some kid in front of me must have walked out with at least half a dozen."

Yuina stopped in her steps, brows furrowed as she grew increasingly perplexed by the conversation.

Terushima stopped a few steps ahead of her and turned around with a look of confusion. "You did get it, didn't you? In your shoe locker?" Yuina stood dumbfounded for a moment and the look on the boy's face shifted from confused, to pensive and then to panic. "W– wait, did I put it in the wrong box!?"

"Wh– No! No, I got it!" Yuina blurted.

The blonde put a hand to his chest and let out a deep breath. "Geez, you freaked me out for a second. You had me thinking I gave it to someone else entirely," he groaned with a sigh of relief. His brown eyes examined the look on the brunette's face before making a few deductions. "Don't tell me," a wry and beaten smile played on his lips. "You didn't know I put it there?"

"It's not like there was a name or anything!" Feeling defensive, Yuina picked up her feet and began briskly toward the end of the block. Her voice grew quieter as she added, "I just figured it was from Kaori or something..."

But Terushima was even more concerned now. "You weren't sure who it was from but you ate it anyway!?"

The girl's cheeks flushed pink.

"Yuina-chan, you seem like a smart girl but you make some pretty careless decisions." And Terushima—of all people—sighed at her.

"Why are you leaving food in people's lockers without saying who it's from anyway!" Yuina bit back, walking faster still.

But Terushima laughed in good nature as he matched her pace with long strides. "You were staring at it so seriously I thought it was obvious, sorry! Next time I'll give it to you in person, how's that?"

"There really doesn't need to be a 'next time'," she huffed. God, was the walk home always this long? The rest of the walk felt painfully long as the two bantered back and forth. The boy playfully went on about the risks of accepting food from strangers as the girl persisted in snubbing his unsolicited advice.

"Ah, there's the station," Terushima said as the grey of the subway station came into view over the horizon. "Is your place close?"

Yuina nodded. "I'm just around the corner here." She briefly worried that he would try to walk her up to her door and was trying to fabricate a plausible excuse when the boy spoke.

The taller boy had discreetly eyed the look of mild distress on her face before feeling his best course of action was to say his farewells. "Alright, see you Monday, Yuina-chan~!" With a grin, he waved both hands overhead, walking backwards in the direction of the station.

Puzzled by the unexpected turn of events, Yuina stood at the intersection and reflexively waved back ah the boy. "Uh, yeah. Have a good weekend." That was surprisingly tactful—no, considerate?—of him.

He was halfway down the block when he suddenly hollered back, "It's okay if you fell for me today." What was he saying!? There were people on the street! "If you can't wait to see me 'til Monday, my number's on the form from earlier!" She could hear the smirk in his voice. Strangers on the street were totally staring!

Without so much as a reply, Yuina did a 180 on her heels and dashed down the alley toward her home. She almost swore she could hear his boisterous laughter echoing in her ears the whole way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, I have to physically stop myself from having Terushima make too many innuendos. I am out of control. But at least I'm on a roll with writing regularly and updating consistently for once. I can almost guarantee this pattern will fall apart real soon :')


	6. "Dislike"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breaking News: Local teen volleyball sensation spotted in town! (And accuses by-standing teenager girl of being a tsundere)

A laid back Saturday afternoon. Windows left ajar to allow the cool summer breeze to drift through their home. She would curl up on the couch in comfy pyjamas, watching Korean dramas without so much as a care in the world. Or at least, that was what Yuina had planned for her weekend. Her parents, however, had different ideas. Having left behind some of her work at home, Kikuchi Takehito and Manami resorted to bribing their daughter with promises of lunch in exchange for delivery service.

"Make sure you actually get up and eat lunch before it gets cold!" Yuina called loudly in the direction of her younger brother's room. He had insisted he was awake when she had gone to wake him earlier but the boy had made no effort to get out of bed in the past half hour. Being the odd one out in the Kikuchi household, Sakuya was never much of an early riser. Both of their parents and Yuina were morning larks but Sakuya alone had always been a night owl.

Worried that her brother had dozed back off to sleep in the few minutes she had left him alone, Yuina knocked on the door she had left ajar. "Sakuya, I'm going out now."

The boy merely grunted in response. All she could make out were tufts of his bedhead sticking out of the sheets and one foot hanging off the side of his bed. Yuina checked her wristwatch. It was already past eleven. With a sigh, she pushed the door wide open and strode to the side of the bed. In one swift motion, she pulled the sheets off the younger boy.

"Wake up!"

Sakuya grimaced, eyes shut as he fought to cling to the sheet. "Stop! I'm cold," he hissed, curling up and turning away in bed.

For a kid who was constantly praised by adults for being so mature, he was such an insufferable brat sometimes. "I'm leaving now," Yuina announced, stern. She placed the sheets neatly back down at the foot of the bed. "Are you sure you don't want to come for lunch with mom and dad?" There was little point in asking, of course.

Sakuya merely groaned and turned in his bed.

"Alright," Yuina sighed, turning back toward the bedroom door. "There are leftovers from breakfast still on the stove. Make sure to bring it to a boil and leave it covered in the fridge after, okay?"

An affirmative grunt.

It was to be expected, she thought, closing the bedroom door behind her. Knowing Sakuya, she would soon return home to find he had eaten as instructed, done the dishes without being asked and then holed up to play videogames. Sakuya probably was one of the last middle schoolers in the world to need someone fussing over him, but old habits were hard to break for Yuina.

Picking up the slim binder left on the dining table, Yuina briefly flipped through the pages. Those definitely fit the bill of medical documents her mother had forgotten to take to work this morning. Slipping into her shoes, Yuina's eyes did a final sweep of the house before exiting.

The subway ride to her parents' clinic was a familiar one, a trip she had made for her workaholic parents for as long as she's been old enough to get around on her own. It was of no surprise to local business owners and townspeople to see Kikuchi Yuina running yet another errand for her busy parents.

"Good morning, Yuina-chan," the bespectacled receptionist greeted warmly. She was a graduate student at a nearby university who had taken up the vacancy just this spring, but Yuina's parents always sang high praises of her work ethics.

With a polite bow of her head, the brunette acknowledged the young woman. "Good morning, Ayumi-san. Is my mother with a patient?" she inquired quietly as to not disturb anyone in the waiting room.

Ayumi's eye flit back to the computer screen. "She should be finished with her consultation any minute," the receptionist answered, looking over the schedule. "I'm sure she'll be out soon."

With a smile and a nod, Yuina shuffled over to an empty seat in the waiting area of the clinic. She had just made herself comfortable in the seat when a young man sitting a few chairs away suddenly got up and relocated to the seat next to hers.

"Aren't you such a nice daughter, Yuina-chan?"

The owner of a voice was a tall brown-haired young man with an athletic build. His face did seem familiar to her but Yuina couldn't possibly keep track of all her parents' clients. His brown hair flipped out at the ends and she was certain she must have exchanged pleasantries with him at some point. The awkwardness of being recognized by someone you didn't remember forced a taut smile on Yuina's face.

"I'm just running simple errands," she replied modestly, aptly dodging having to identify the young man. Oh, God, who was he again? Just then, her eyes caught sight of the local newspaper sitting on the end table behind the young man. Oh! That high school volleyball player her parents talked about. What was his name again? "Oikawa-san, are you here for a follow-up?" Yuina relaxed, finally recalling the name that had been on the tip of her tongue.

The older boy leaned back in his chair. "I've been fine but your mother insisted on a follow-up appointment," he pouted, clearly unhappy about the situation.

"It's a relief you were able to get back to volleyball after such little therapy, though," Yuina mused, remembering her father being impressed with how well his young patient had taken to physiotherapy.

Oikawa, however, merely shrugged. "Not that there's much to play with the InterHigh Prelims being over." Had that been a tinge of bitterness in his tone? Even Yuina was aware that Aobajohsai was famed for its boys' volleyball team. The townspeople's pride was, of course, Shiratorizawa, but Aobajohsai was also a household name among these parts. With a wry smile and dismissive wave os the hand, the young athlete explained, "Looks like Karasuno is the one going to InterHigh this year."

Karasuno? She wasn't familiar with the name but somewhere at the back of her mind, Yuina was aware that such a school existed in the general vicinity. "Eh, so Aobajohsai lost to them?" She tilted her head to the side. Was this one of those shounen manga underdog plots where the faceless newcomers overthrow the long-reigning champions?

The corner of Oikawa's lip twitched. "And Shiratorizawa. Ah well, I would have expected no less from my kouhai than defeating Ushiwaka," he shrugged casually, leaning back in his seat. "Besides, your Johzenji lost to Karasuno, too. Shouldn't you be a little more upset?"

"I don't really get involved with the boys' volleyball team at my school," Yuina laughed awkwardly, tugging at a strand of stray hair. She hadn't quite lied, she did try to avoid getting involved with them where possible. It just rarely worked out that way.

The older boy gave a look of comprehension as he sighed. "I don't blame you, some of your guys are pretty wild." Wasn't that an understatement.

She stifled a chuckle. "I'm sure 'wild' is one word for it. If we're talking in terms of a pack of wild monkeys, maybe."

"Hmmm?" Amused, Oikawa quirked a brow. "I thought you didn't get involved?"

Yuina bit her tongue. She considered her next few words carefully. "It seems their captain sits next to me in class," she explained, a sheepish and defeated grin on her face.

Oikawa seemed to go over his recollection of the Johzenji volleyball team. "The new captain is that loud, blonde second-year, right? With the piercings?" Yuina gave a curt nod. "Sounds like you've got it rough, Yuina-chan. I take it you don't like him much?"

Her eyes went round in confusion. "What makes you say that?"

Before her, Oikawa returned the look of confusion. "Di— didn't you just call him a wild monkey?" He smiled, perplexed by the reaction.

The brunette opened her mouth to speak, but sealed her lips and knitted her brows together. "It's not so much that I 'dislike' him," she began slowly, trying to sort out her opinion of Terushima Yuuji into actual words. It was harder than she thought it would be. "He's kind of obnoxious and has this sort of childish one-track mind," she crossed her arms, thinking. "And he's really, really loud. And I always feel exhausted, like I've been hit by a hurricane after I've dealt with him..."

The look of bemusement on Oikawa's face was still present. Surely, these things she was saying were not compliments. Surely, this was a situation in which someone explains why they don't like another person. Judging by what her parents said of her and of few times he had spoken to her, Kikuchi Yuina struck him as a nice honour roll type. Everything about blonde Johzenji captain, however, screamed trouble. He couldn't imagine them being friends in any capacity.

"But I guess," Yuina struggled for the words she wanted. What could she say to sum up what she knew of Terushima? He was still surprisingly smart, had the respect of his teammates, and sometimes he would act in ways that she might even call considerate—almost. "Well, I guess he's okay sometimes," she concluded quietly.

The expression on the older boy's face shifted into a baffled smile. "Yuina-chan, are you maybe a tsundere?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, look it's another cameo. I only sort of hinted at it in the text but Yuina and Sakuya's parents run a sports medicine clinic! Her mother is a sports medicine doctor and her father is a physiotherapist.


	7. Feud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Civil War ensues at Johzenji High.

Three girls sat huddled together at a table near the corner of the canteen. They spoke in hushed voices, an air of conspiracy and secrecy surrounding them. Eyes occasionally darted around the cafeteria, wary of the gazes of third parties. It was that time of year again where it became an unspoken taboo to be caught in the company of students from other classes.

It was Sports Festival Season.

The student body and faculty alike became increasingly competitive in the days leading up to the big event. Many friends became rivals and last year's classmates were this year's enemies. At Johzenji especially, the sports festival was a paramount event in the school year. It was one of the few days of the year that the school opened its gates to the public. A magical day when the usually disciplined and conservative Johzenji High threw caution to the wind in a tradition of cutting loose in the spirit of competition.

In their first year, Yuina and Kaori had been in the same class but this year being in separate classes meant they were checking over their shoulders for the disapproving gazes of their current classmates. Sana, or the rest of Class 1 for that matter, didn't seem to care as much about the forced segregation of classes.

"Alright, I think they're gone," Kaori breathed, watching a pair of students from Class 7 discard their trays and exit the canteen. Crouched low over the table across from her, Yuina relaxed and sighed as she sat straight once more. The brunette exchanged a half-hearted smile with Kaori across the table.

Sana folded her arms over the table and leaned in with a small frown. "Is this really such a big deal? Are you sure it's not just your classes that are being weird about all this?" The students in Class 1 didn't act too differently even with the sports festival on the horizon. Sure, many of them seemed excited and were a little rowdier than usual but the tension of competitiveness didn't really exist among them.

"No, it's definitely Class 1 that's weird," Yuina said waving her hand dismissively. "You guys are just unnaturally easy-going."

At that moment, Kaori leaned into the table and motioned for Yuina and Sana to follow suit. After the briefest moment of apprehension, the two girls also leaned in. Cupping her hand around her mouth, the tall girl began in a low whisper, "It's particularly bad among the third years this year. I heard there's a third-year—"

"What did a third-year do?" A male voice cut in, whispering. The girls became suddenly aware of the crowding at their little table as two newcomers had taken up seats on either end of the trio. The owner of the voice was none other than Bobata Kazuma, a classmate of Sana's.

Which could only mean... A familiar streak of blonde and glint of silver came into view from the corner of Yuina's eye. Startled by the sudden movement of the boy helping himself into the seat next to her, the brunette instinctively leaned away. Oh, no, now she was remembering that weird thing Oikawa-san had said. She sat frozen, leaning against Kaori's side as she fervently avoided eye contact with Terushima.

Kaori soon adjusted to the situation and went on to explain. "Apparently a third-year couple broke up over a SportsFes argument."

"Eh, SportsFes is supposed to be fun, they don't have to take it so seriously," Terushima chimed in. he was seated sideways on the bench, his knee casually grazing against Yuina's—and apparently, she was the only one who cared or was even aware of the contact. In fact, she was extremely aware of that faintest pressure against the side of her knee, but Terushima sat unbothered. "Well, we'll beat Class 1 at least. Right, Yuina-chan?" The blonde boy grinned, flashing a line of sparkly whites.

Before she even had a chance to say anything, Bobata gave a scoff from the other side of the table. "Isn't Class 7 full of bookworms and honour roll goody two shoes?" He cast a quick sideways glance at Yuina before putting his arm around Sana's shoulder and pulling her in. "We're not worried about the likes of you," he grinned, a look of defiance in his eyes as he stared Terushima down across the table.

"Sakurai, you and Fujiwara are both Tennis team, right?" Terushima inquired casually pointing between the two girls.

Sana gave a nod. "Yui played too," she said as she pinched the back of the tall brown-haired boy's hand, forcing him to swiftly retract his arm. "We were on the same team in middle school, but she quit after her first year in high school."

The two boys made general sounds of surprise as they turned their eyes toward Yuina. "Yuina-chan, are you good at tennis?" Terushima asked, his eyes sparkling with expectation.

Yuina shrank away from his gaze. "I'm okay, I think?"

"What a lie!" Kaori and Sana scoffed at the same time. The tall girl rolled her eyes as she shook her head exaggeratedly. "I still don't think you should have quit. It's hard to have that kind of pinpoint serve accuracy," Kaori was frowning as she spoke, she was the one who was most let down by Yuina's departure from the team after all. 

Yuina furrowed her brows and frowned back at her friend. "Have you met me?" She held up her arm. "I have wet soba noodles for arms! I could barely keep up with you and Sana during roadwork," she sighed, folding her arms over her chest.

Sana laughed from across the table. "Okay, so maybe you don't have the best endurance but you play smart! At least you're not like Kao who just wildly swings the racquet with the blind strength of a gorilla."

"Sana!" Kaori huffed, going red in the face. There were few things Fujiwara Kaori worried about, but those few worries all had to do with her physique. She was as tall as many of the boys her age and maybe stronger than just as many. And sure, her friends called her cute but most little girls want to grow up to be fairies, not Amazons.

"The Girls' Tennis Team, huh..." Terushima mused, rubbing his chin as a pensive look took over his face. He had a far off look on his face as if he was thinking of something serious. A flash of comprehension crossed his teammate's face and Bobata also gave a serious nod.

Suddenly concerned, Yuina eyed the two boys carefully. "Wh– what about it?" she questioned suspiciously, a strange sense of paranoia settling in. The other two girls also gulped in anticipation as they waited to hear what the Boys' Volleyball Captain would have to say next.

"Still… I wouldn't have taken you for former Tennis Team," the blonde mumbled, looking over Yuina as if carefully examining her. Bobata Kazuma simply nodded sagely from across the table, his eyes closed as he wore a blissful smile.

Now she was really starting to worry. "What! Spit it out, already!" Yuina chided with a frown.

A boyish grin spread across his lips and crept into his brown eyes in the form of a mischievous glint. "That means you wore those tiny skirts, right?"

"Oh my God," Yuina groaned as she lightly shoved the blonde boy next to her. Terushima fell over exaggeratedly as he gave a burst of hearty laughter. Kaori rolled her eyes and Sana gave a sharp jab to Bobata's rib with her elbow. "Is that seriously what you were thinking about!?" the petite girl demanded incredulously.

"Aww, c'mon," he gently nudged Yuina's arm as she sighed. "You can't honestly tell a healthy teenage boy about girls playing tennis and expect him to not imagine them running around in tiny skirts." Was this supposed to be logic? Was this supposed to make her go, 'Ah, yes, that's understandable.'

Sana and Bobata bickered playfully across the table and Yuina briefly wondered what was going on with them. They got along really well. She might even go so far as to think they were flirting. Were they flirting? Or was this just a classic example of Sana being Sana?

As if reading her mind, Terushima leaned in close and cupped a hand around Yuina's ear and whispered, "Look at them, acting like they're the only ones at this table." So it wasn't just her who had thought something was going on.

"What are you two whispering about?" Sana raised a brow and eyed the pair from Class 7 suspiciously.

Terushima gave a small wink to Yuina as he casually turned back toward the rest of their small party seated around the table. "Oh, just discussing how we're gonna whoop your asses during SportsFes," he lied with a casual shrug.

The provocation had worked. "We've also got Futamata in Class 1, you're outnumbered, _Captain_," Bobata stressed the title mockingly, wearing a challenging grin.

"Huh?" Yuina thought she saw Terushima's brow twitch for a second. "You think you punks can just come swooping in and stage an uprising, is that it?" He raised a brow and crossed his arms over his chest. This was still the same guy saying SportsFes was for fun and nothing to be competitive about just a minute ago, right?

Just then, Sana chimed in to aggravate the situation even further. "Ooh, maybe the Boys' Volleyball Team should take this as a chance to elect a new captain?"

And apparently, that was the last straw. With a huff, Terushima rose to his feet and pulled Yuina up by the arm with him. Wait, what? "Yuina-chan, we shouldn't sit around listening to this kind of slander," his voice was friendly but the grin on his face was nothing short of wicked. Yuina, however, was still reeling from the situation. What did she have anything to do with this? "Why doesn't Class 1 enjoy its few days of bliss before we Class 7 put you in your place this weekend?"

He was dragging her away from the table now and Yuina shot a confused look toward Kaori who sat dumbfounded at the table watching this whirlwind of events unfold. Weren't they just trying to avoid this whole feuding thing? Hadn't they been doing a good job of it until just now?

"Let's go, Yuina-chan, your ears will rot if you listen to that kind of garbage," Terushima said in a sing-song voice as he put his arm around Yuina and ushered her out of the cafeteria. He turned around to stick his tongue out at Bobata as they exited. Childish pettiness at its finest.

What had just happened to her peaceful lunch break?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The semester is coming to a close which means I'm getting slammed with exam prep and papers. Updates might slow down for a bit compared to last week but I'm trying to be as diligent as I can ; w;


	8. SpoFes Picnic Party (6)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johzenji volleyball boys invite themselves to crash a picnic.

The days leading up to the Sports Festival had been strange, to say the least. Yuina had found herself mostly in the company of her class thanks in part to all the classes doing their respective preparation for the event. But she attributed most of her reason for not being able to see Kaori or Sana to the fact that Terushima Yuuji had insisted on gluing himself to her side. He would practically usher her to and from the cafeteria with a sudden interest in the traditional competitive spirit of the festival.

It was finally the day before the Sports Festival and the overall tension at Johzenji had mellowed out into an atmosphere of cheerful anticipation. Although it had only been a scant three days of Terushima's hovering, Yuina felt like she was seeing Sana for the first time in ages when she saw the familiar curls of sandy blonde hair in the hallway.

"Yui~" Sana waved both arms over her head. She was with the two Class 1 boys from the boys' volleyball team.

Yuina glanced over her shoulder at Terushima's reaction—Terushima who was greeting Bobata and Futamata, acting as if he hadn't spent the last three days avoiding his own teammates out of petty rivalry. Were they really laughing and getting along again? What happened to trying to obstruct her from having lunch with her own friends because it was 'fraternizing with the enemy'?

"It's tomorrow!" Sana exclaimed, her excitement was palpable as she threw her arms around Yuina. "You're gonna bring it this year too, right?" Her eyes were twinkling in hopeful excitement.

The brunette gave a small giggle, she knew exactly what her friend was asking about. "Yes, yes, I'm about to go shopping for it on my way home," she replied, patting her friend's arm reassuringly. At this point, the three boys' heads tilted in unison. Curious eyes flit back and forth between the two girls and their ambiguous discussion.

"Kikuchi, what are you bringing?" Futamata inquired, putting the boys' collective nosiness into words. Three pairs of round, snooping eyes watched quietly.

"Kikuchi Yuina-san's special three-tiered bento!" Sana cheered, throwing her arms up in the air. Oohs and aahs went up among the boys, wrapped up in Sana's excitement. Clutching Yuina's arm with a pleading look, Sana spoke, "Yui! Yui! I want karaage! Garlic flavoured!"

"And hamburg steak!"

Startled, Yuina whipped around at the sound of Terushima's voice suddenly making a request. Was… was he inviting himself to lunch? He was holding his hand up as if in class. And his eyes shone with the same kind of childlike excitement as Sana's. The look of innocent anticipation was one she couldn't imagine turning down. Well, it couldn't hurt to add one more item to her bento preparation tonight.

Or so she had thought.

"Kikuchi, can you make korokke?!" Bobata demanded.

Alright, still doable. Karaage, hamburg steak and korokke—

Futamata joined in on throwing up his hand. "Spam musubi for me."

Yuina's eyes narrowed, her brain struggling to process the whirlwind of a situation that was unfolding. How many people did they think a single bento could feed? Alright, calm down. Think realistically. There was a second picnic bento at home that she could use. She could keep the musubi in the fridge overnight and prepare the hot foods so that they only need to be cooked in the morning…

"Too many people," she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. Just how much food did the average teenage boy eat? These weren't even average teenage boys. Bobata alone was nearly 190cm tall! And it's a sports festival! Everyone was going to have used up a bunch of energy.

"C'mon, it'll be fun with more people~" Sana whined, swinging Yuina's arm back and forth. "Kao and I'll pitch in and bring something too!" Sana was quick to get excited about food (that was how she and Yuina first bonded as friends, after all) but she was really keen on this giant picnic idea.

Bobata sheepishly raised his hand. "I can kinda cook some basic side dishes if that helps," he spoke as if admitting to some crime. All gazes simultaneously turned on the tall brown-haired boy. Bobata Kazuma cooks?

"I mean," Terushima began, rubbing the back of his neck. "I can't make anything but I'll pitch in too!"

Not to be outdone, the black-haired boy chirped, "I can bring a picnic blanket!"

And with even some bratty jocks who looked and acted like textbook troublemakers to be offering to do their part, who was Yuina to say no? Was this the magic of the sports festival kicking in? A snort escaped her as Yuina observed the four before her taking this all so seriously. "I can't really say no if you're all going to be that excited for it," she mused with a smile.

The party let out a cheer.

Pulling out her phone, Sana got to work. "I'll make a LINE group!" She tapped away at the screen and notification sounds followed on two phones. "Bobata, you can add Terushima and Futamata."

The tall boy made a grunt in agreement as he pulled his phone out to add two more members to the group chat. As the small group stood in the hallway with their phones before them, all five phones buzzed instantaneously.

Yuina opened her phone to a message from a confused Kaori.

> **SpoFes Picnic Party (6)**  
  
[15:52] Kaorin: ??? What is this?  
[15:52] Takeharu: sup  
[15:52] Sana♡: we're all gonna help Yui w SpoFes picnic! (≧◡≦)  
[15:52] KAZ: Yo!  
[15:53] Yuuji: i can msg yuina-chan 24/7 now? lolol lucky~  
[15:53] Yui: please don't ;;

A notification banner appeared at the top of her screen. A LINE friend request from a certain "Yuuji". Yuina looked up only to be met with expectant puppy-dog eyes from the blonde boy standing before her, and hit the accept button almost begrudgingly as she averted the intensity of his gaze.

"Anyway, I need to head to the supermarket so I can get ingredients and prep for tomorrow," Yuina spoke, she started writing up a task list on her phone. "Kaori can probably do riceballs like last year. Sana-chan, can I put you in charge of dessert?"

The second girl nodded. "Is fruit okay?"

Yuina gave an approving smile. "That's perfect."

"I can make tamagoyaki and yakisoba," Bobata suggested sheepishly, still averting the questioning gazes of his teammates. If anything he might have been the last, or at least second-last, person Yuina would have expected to be able to cook out of this group.

"Okay." Now the problem was the other two members of the boys' volleyball team. "Futamata-kun, I'll leave you in charge of the picnic blanket, then?"

The dark-haired boy nodded. "Yeah, I saw it in my attic the other day. Ah, I can get some disposable chopsticks and paper plates too."

Okay, things were kind of working out. Yuina then turned to the biggest trouble maker of the group. The forced, tight-lipped smile on Terushima Yuuji's face already said everything she needed to know. But she asked anyway, "Terushima-kun, can you cook at all?"

He didn't meet her eyes as he shook his head.

Well, if anything, he didn't fail to live right up to her expectations. "Alright, could you bring drinks, then?"

The blonde nodded eagerly. And that should cover most of their bases. it kind of felt like planning a big outing and Yuina would have been lying if she were to say the excitement wasn't rubbing off on her. When was the last time she arranged this sort of picnic with so many other people?

"Anyway, if anything happens or if you have a question just message the group chat and we'll figure something out," Yuina explained, sliding her phone back into her bag.

"Yui!" Sana had her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. "This is supposed to be fun, stop talking about it like it's a group project!" she scolded, wagging a finger.

The boys, however, burst into laughter. "Doesn't it kind of seem on-brand for Kikuchi, though?" Futamata asked between chortles. The other three laughed and nodded in agreement, causing Yuina's brows drew in together in a small pout.

With a huff, the brunette turned on her heel. "If you keep making fun of me, I'm not making anything for anyone!" she huffed as she started walking away.

"Yui! I love you! You're the best!" Sana hollered, having stopped teasing her. "See you tomorrow!" Her voice became quieter as Yuina made her way out toward the shoe lockers.

Of course, she knew Sana didn't mean much by it when she accused her of turning the picnic into a group project. But the idea of coming off in such a way and for that to be "on-brand" of her wasn't exactly a thought that made her leap for joy. Yuina was starting to spiral into a paranoid and self-conscious train of thought as she slipped into her street shoes. And only when she felt a hand on her shoulder had she become aware of someone calling her name repeatedly.

"Why is it that you're never listening to me here?" Terushima groaned as he finally got her attention. This had happened before too, hadn't it? Where she was caught redhanded in the act of tuning him out.

"Oh, sorry I was just thinking. Um, did you need something?" Yuina asked, checking over his shoulder for any sign of the other three.

Terushima slipped into his own shoes before he turned to reply, "You're going to the supermarket, right? I'll go with you. Since I need to buy drinks anyway." He shrugged, taking his first few steps toward the exit ahead of her. He paused a few feet short of the wide double doors. "It's not like I'm doing much so I figured… you know," his voice shrank into an unintelligible drowned out by the sounds of other students in my foyer.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that," Yuina said as she hurriedly followed after him to close the distance between them. And she might have been imagining it in the warm afternoon light, but for a moment she could have sworn she saw the slightest flush of red at the tips of his ears.

He jerked his chin away, turning his head away so that she couldn't see his face. "I said, the least you should do is put me to work and have me carry your groceries!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can bet we're eventually hitting up every slice-of-life genre trope at some point. Sports festival? Beach episode? Summer vacation shenanigans? High school teenagers taking implausibly unsupervised overnight trips? Hell yeah. But first, this hurdle.


	9. A textbook yankee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Terushuima Yuuji is assaulted by a thirteen-year-old.

"Yuina-chan, do you cook a lot?"

"I guess," the brunette shrugged as she picked up two bunches of green onions for comparison. She carefully examined each and every item before placing it in the basket. "Our parents both work a lot so I'm usually the one in charge of meals," she explained as she finally turned away from the produce section. "Weren't you going to get drinks? I can take the basket if you want," Yuina offered, holding her hand out for the shopping basket in Terushima's hand.

Without relenting the luggage over, the blonde boy turned toward the aisles. "I wouldn't want your 'wet soba noodle arms' to snap off before the festival," he faked a sigh of concern, keeping the basket right out of the girl's reach.

With a scowl, Yuina hurried after him. "I can carry a shopping basket just fine!" she protested as she fell into step beside him. And to think she was almost impressed with him offering to carry her things for her. "If you're just here to be a menace, I can take care of groceries by myself!"

Terushima's steps faltered and slowed down. His voice became uncharacteristically quiet as he mumbled his words. "Well, it's not like I can be helpful and cook like Kazuma or anything." The slight trace of a pout on his face gave away a look of child-like embarrassment and guilt. Is that what this was? That Terushima Yuuji felt bad about being a mooch? He ruffled his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Look, I'm not so terrible as to freeload when everyone else is pitching in," he frowned, ears red and still averting her gaze.

Who knew? Terushima Yuuji had a cute side to him. Almost.

"It's just a bento," she said, stifling a chuckle. "I've made one every year since middle school," Yuina recounted. "Although, it was just me and Sana back then. But they say it's more the merrier, and I guess it's always nicer to enjoy a meal with more people." The smile slipped from her visage as she spoke the last sentence. Her mind briefly flitting to wonder when the last time her parents had actually been home for family dinner.

It was Terushima being back to his usual self that picked up her spirits yet again. "Still, nobody's made me a bento before! Not to mention a girl!" He cheered and pumped his fist. "I'm gonna brag all about Yuina-chan making me a bento on Twitter!"

"I'm not making it only for you, you know," she chided him playfully, knocking him down a peg.

But it was nice, not that she'd admit. She had almost forgotten what it was like to have others get excited about you doing something for them or cooking them a meal. And just remembering the genuine buzz of elation the boys had expressed tugged the corners of her lips upward, whether she liked it or not. Even as she watched Terushima picking up various bottles of sports drinks and juices, a smile played at her lips.

"Is Potari alright?" the blonde asked, holding up a large bottle with a blue label. He looked down at the bottle of soda in his hand and mumbled, "Soda's great but we really don't need all that sugar during a long day of activity."

Yuina watched his round eyes as Terushima went on to mumble about the effects of sugary beverages on athletic performance. There it was again, a glimpse of Terushima Yuuji the team captain. "You know, you really sounded like a serious athlete just now," she mused, impressed.

"Eh?" Terushima tilted his head, a comically baffled expression on his face. "I… I am, though?"

Yuina gave a small giggle as she took the sports drink from his hand and placed it in the basket. "Of course, _captain_," she teased, taking his bottle of melon soda and putting it back in the fridge. "Potari is fine, we should probably get some tea to have with food, too. Maybe oolong?"

The fleeting moment of bliss Terushima felt at the idea that Yuina had called him "captain" was quick to recede as he processed the teasing tone. He haphazardly tossed a bottle of oolong tea in the basket as he chased after Yuina who was headed toward the check-out. He was Terushima Yuuji, however, and he wasn't the type to be so easily deterred. "Yuina-chan, can you say that one more time?"

"Say what?"

"Captain."

"No thank you."

* * *

"Isn't it heavy?" Yuina inquired, her eyes cautiously flitting from the plastic bags in Terushima's hands to his face. There were two 2L bottles in one of them, the handle was stretched taut, she could literally see the bag digging into his palm. Throughout the whole walk, she had caught him uncomfortably shifting the weight of the bags in his hands.

Terushima laughed again, shifting one of the bags to his other hand. "Yuina-chan, these guns aren't just for show," he smirked, holding up an arm. There it was again, Terushima and his bravado.

"I'll take one," she offered, again. She reached for one of the lighter looking bags without waiting for his answer. Terushima however, scowled and refused to let go of the plastic bag, insisting that it was fine. "Just let me have one of the—"

"Hey, blondie!"

An alarmingly familiar voice came booming from behind, loud and hostile. And suddenly, Yuina was acutely aware of how the situation must look to a stranger. A blonde pierced teenage boy seemingly taking bags from a girl on the street.

"Go harass someone else!"

And suddenly a brown backpack was hurled straight into the back of Terushima's head. The blonde boy yelped as his neck snapped forward from the impact.

Yuina whipped around in stupefaction, only to have her terrifying fear confirmed. "Sakuya!" Yuina shrieked in a panic. "Apologize right now!" her voice was shrill as she marched up to the boy and grabbed him by the ear.

"That hurts!" the younger boy protested as he was dragged off toward the blonde stranger. 

Terushima rubbed the back of his head dumbfounded and still reeling from the shock of impact. This guy— no, wait, he looked like he was in middle school at best? This kid had just thrown a backpack at his head. He just insulted him and threw something at his head. And what's more, was that Yuina was yelling at him for it?

The brown-haired girl put her hand against the back of the brown-haired boy's head and forced him to bow his head to the blonde. Didn't something about the boy strike Terushima as familiar? Had they met before? Had he given this kid some reason to hate him in the past? No, wait, it was his eyes.

"Apologize to him right now!" Yuina demanded, slapping the boy across the back.

The boy yelped and jumped. "Nee-san, stop hitting me!"

That's where he had seen those eyes before. Two pairs of identical grey eyes glared at each other in front of him. "Is this the little brother?" Terushima balked, pointing at the younger boy before him.

Her cheeks dyed crimson from embarrassment, Yuina bowed her head. "I'm so sorry about him," she apologized, wincing. Turning toward the younger boy again, she planted her hands on her hips and frowned at the boy. "This is Terushima Yuuji-kun from my class!" the brunette hissed.

"Huh? How was I supposed to know he's from your class? Look at his piercings! No matter how you look at it, he's totally a textbook yankee!" Ah, well it wouldn't be the first time he's heard that before. Terushima's lips curled into a sideways smile. Kikuchi Yuina's little brother seemed nothing like her. The kid had a mouth, or maybe that's just what middle schoolers were like?

Terushima watched them bicker for a bit before he stepped in to defuse the situation. "Aww, c'mon, it's fine," he spoke, casually patting Yuina's shoulder. It wasn't the most pleasant feeling, having something thrown at the back of your head, but it wasn't as if he had taken a serve to the head or two before—this impact was almost cute in comparison. "Good job looking out for your sister, little man!" The blonde laughed heartily, ruffling the hair of the young boy.

The younger boy gently swatted his hand away with a light scowl. "Please don't call me strange nicknames," he replied flatly as he fixed his hair. He would rescind his prior impression of the boy, this was definitely Kikuchi Yuina's kid brother alright. The younger Kikuchi sibling knew to politely put up his walls, just like his sister.

"Sakuya, be more polite," Yuina chided, as she picked up Sakuya's book bag from the ground.

The younger boy clicked his tongue then forced a smile as he turned toward the blonde highschool boy. "I apologize for jumping to conclusions, earlier," the complete lack of sincerity in his smile was almost terrifying. "Would you like to come inside, Yuuji-san?"

It was Yuina's turn to balk. "Wait, wh—"

"Ohhhhh!?" But Terushima's eyes were already on fire.

"No way," Sakuya gave a badly feigned look of shock. "Nee-san, don't tell me you weren't going to at least invite him in for tea after he carried all these things home for you? After preaching to me about being polite, no less?"

She would get the little brat later, Yuina noted to herself. Then forcing a tight smile on her face, she turned to her little brother. "Of course not, now that would be completely hypocritical of me," she smiled and turned back toward her classmate. "Terushima-kun, why you have a break before you head home?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Headcanon: Terushima Yuuji is the youngest brother to wildly successful older siblings. I imagine his parents are super laissez-faire about his troublemaking mostly because they've done the whole parenting thing more than once. Terushima rebels by causing small bouts of trouble here and there for attention, but knows not to make any serious problems. So his family just kind of shrugs it off as "Oh, there goes Yuuji being Yuuji". Will I touch upon this later? Of course. Will I be making it unnecessarily angsty? You bet. And it's all starting next chapter :)


	10. Older siblings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yesterday's enemy is today's friend. Or rather, the last hour's enemy is this hour's friend.

Brown eyes practically twinkled in excitement as they took in the sight of the modest single-family home. Yuina watched warily as Terushima entered her home, gawking in awe at every small detail. She shot a sharp glare to Sakuya as he slipped past and scampered off to his room. What was she thinking? Terushima Yuuji was standing in her living room and Kikuchi Yuina was in over her head. Her guest was quick to make himself at home, discarding his belongings at the foot of the couch.

He was so easily amazed by every little thing. Were those her parents in that photo? Was that a PlayStation on the shelf? Whose Nintendo Switch was that? Who did those trophies belong to? What's in that case? A violin? Did she play the violin?

Sakuya had reappeared, swiftly changed out of his uniform. His brows knitted together as he noticed the older boy fussing over his belongings in the living room. "Those are all mine. Besides, I bet Yui-nee doesn't have a musical bone in her body," the boy harrumphed as he picked the violin case out of the blonde's hands and placed it back in the corner.

The brunette narrowed her eyes at her younger brother's snark. Sakuya was usually praised for being mature by teachers and other parents, but he was being uncharacteristically bratty today. Terushima seemed completely unfazed by the bite in the younger boy's tone, however. He merely laughed and continued to pester the younger boy in good nature, this time asking about the music awards on the bookshelf. Despite the annoyance that was plain on his face, Sakuya answered every question and had yet to retreat to his room.

Maybe they were actually kind of getting along? In a weird way.

Leaving the two boys, Yuina turned her attention toward putting the groceries away. She occasionally peeked out of the kitchen to make sure the boys were still getting along in the living room. Terushima seemed so absorbed in talking videogames with Sakuya, one might have thought he came here to see the younger boy instead.

"Is castella and milk okay?" Yuina asked, poking her head around the corner.

They two boys were curled up on the couch, each with a controller in hand. They merely grunted in unison and Yuina gave a hapless shake of the head. If anything, they were both adapting to the situation far better than she was. By the time she had carried out three slices of the sponge cake, the two were well absorbed into their gameplay.

"That totally should have hit you!" Sakuya balked, staring wide-eyed at the television in disbelief.

The older boy grinned smug, setting down his controller and trading it for a fork. "You can't even make use of your iframes and you're a spear main?" Yuina poured out three glasses of milk as she tried to process the foreign videogame lingo. "Look, after this," the blonde boy popped a piece of the dessert into his mouth before continuing, "I'll show you how to time your rolls better."

Sakuya's eyes gleamed with excitement as he stuffed some castella into his face. "Serious?" his words came out muffled from the mouth full of food.

"You have a violin lesson in an hour," Yuina said, bursting his bubble. "And don't talk with your mouth full," she chided the two boys as she reached for her own fork. Not even an hour in their home and Terushima Yuuji was already on the same wavelength as her thirteen-year-old little brother. To be honest, she wasn't sure if she should be impressed that Sakuya was taking a liking to him or concerned that Terushima was on the same level as a middle schooler.

Sakuya groaned as he threw back his glass of milk. The blonde laughed and offered, "How about I link you some videos instead?" At Terushima's suggestion, the younger boy's face lit up yet again. Regardless of circumstance, it was kind of nice to see her little brother act his age. Sakuya usually kept people at a respectable distance—family included—but to see that Sakuya getting excited like a kid around someone else was a refreshing sight.

To think that even Kikuchi Sakuya wouldn't be immune to the charms of Terushima Yuuji.

"Yuuji-san," the younger boy paused to finish eating before he spoke again this time. "Why would you be friends with someone like my sister?"

Yuina furrowed her brows as she directed a pointed glare at her younger brother.

Sakuya shrugged in response to his sister's scowl. "What? You've never brought friends home unless it's Sana-san or Kaori-san," the younger boy replied defensively. He then turned in his seat, directing his attention to their guest. "All nee-san does is nag and she doesn't even know how to have fun."

Terushima burst out into boisterous laughter at Sakuya's biting words. "Aww, c'mon, I'd be beside myself with joy if I had a cute older sister fussing over me!" The Kikuchi siblings simultaneously groaned and made faces of disgust. "Hey, at least your sister talks to you," the blonde mused, wistfulness and envy twisting his lips into a wry smile.

The slight hint of bitterness in his voice didn't escape Yuina's ears—but when she turned her gaze to the side, Terushima's usual carefree grin made her wonder if she had imagined it all. But the crypticness of his words had already lit the flame of curiosity. "Do you have an older sister, Terushima-kun?"

"Yeah, and an older brother too," the blonde shrugged in response.

The brunette nodded as if everything suddenly made sense. "I guess I could see that," she pondered. The spoiled youngest child, that sounded pretty in line with the Terushima Yuuji she knew at school. "Mm, yeah, that sounds about right."

"What's that supposed to mean!" Terushima interjected with a frown.

The younger Kikuchi nodded sagely. "I don't think I can imagine Yuuji-san being anyone's older brother," he agreed as he took another bite of castella.

The blonde slapped a hand across his chest to demonstrate his shock and betrayal. "You wouldn't want me for a brother?" he demanded, trying to look as appalled as he could. "And here I was thinking I'd teach you all these tips and tricks to make your life easier!"

But the middle schooler was cool as ice and he seemed to ponder a moment before giving a casual shrug. "I guess you could be like," he paused, trying to think of an appropriate role, "the cool cousin who comes to hang out from time to time. Yuuji-san you seem too high tension to see every day." Yuina silently agreed.

"What!? I'd be a great older brother!" Terushima argued, setting down his fork. He leaned into his elbow as he began his assertion. "Look, I've got great style, I'd play videogames with you, and I could teach your volleyball. Girls are all over that."

Yuina stared at him flatly. "When has playing volleyball ever made you popular with girls?"

He looked taken aback. "I see cute girls all the time because of volleyball!"

"Just because you see them doesn't mean you're popular with them," Sakuya mused aloud. He stacked his and Terushima's empty plates atop the tray on the table. He turned his attention to his older sister. "Yui-nee, have you ever thought a guy is cool because he plays volleyball?"

Yuina simply gave a sharp shake of the head.

"See? Playing volleyball doesn't make you popular with girls," the younger boy concluded.

The culmination of the argument made Terushima turn his attention back to his classmate. "Yuina-chan, have you ever watched one of our games?"

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Yuina froze. "No?" Her reply was cautious.

Terushima clicked his tongue as he shook his head. "See, she only thinks that because she hasn't watched us play," he reasoned. "You'll be taking back that answer after the volleyball team's demonstration during SpoFes tomorrow." He flashed that signature grin, overflowing with self-confidence and certainty.

Yuina gasped as she jumped to her feet. "I forgot I need to start on the bento!" She quickly gathered up the dirty dishes and cups on to the tray. "Sakuya, are you eating dinner when you get home?" she asked, already walking off toward the kitchen.

Sakuya had also gotten to his feet, switching off the game console and neatly putting away the controllers on the shelf. "Dad usually brings me food when he picks me up," he replied loud enough for his sister to hear.

The one outsider in the Kikuchi home sat befuddled in the middle of the living room as the two inhabitants of the house scurried about around him, going about their own business.

"Terushima-kun," Yuina poked her head out of the kitchen. "Do you need Sakuya to show you the way to the station?"

"Uh, I probably remember it. Left at the second intersection that way, right?" He pointed in what he guessed was the general direction of West. The brunette simply nodded to him before vanishing into the kitchen again. Suddenly feeling slightly out of place as he watched Sakuya gather his sheet music, Terushima shuffled over to the threshold of the kitchen. "I don't mind helping with some easy stuff," he offered. He had more to say but the words sort of just left him at the unfamiliar sight of Yuina standing in front of the sink.

Her sleeves were rolled up and she wore a beige apron over her uniform as she was tying her hair up. And he silently wished girls would put their hair in high ponytails more.

"Won't your parents be waiting for you for dinner?" Yuina asked offhandedly as she pulled her hair through the elastic and secured it in place. She looked over her shoulder at the blonde looking out of place in her kitchen. Eating dinner by herself on Friday nights was something Yuina had grown accustomed to, but she was aware that it wasn't usually the norm for most people.

Terushima, however, had an unreadable expression on his face as he gave a small shrug. "Probably not." He was looking around the kitchen—avoiding meeting her eyes. The look on his face was controlled and it was proving impossible to decipher. But something about his unnaturally guarded countenance suggested this was a don't-ask-don't-tell situation. Yuina wasn't so crass that she couldn't tell when someone didn't want to share something with her.

It was Sakuya who piped in, popping into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. "You should stay for dinner, Yui-nee always has dinner by herself on Fridays," he suggested unceremoniously as he slipped back out of the kitchen.

Brown eyes darted to the side, swiftly checking the look on the girl's face. But the look on Yuina's face was that of candid pensiveness.

"It's just leftover nikujaga, but you're welcome to stay for dinner if you want," she mumbled her offer quietly, becoming more and more hyperaware of the fact that she was inviting Terushima Yuuji to have dinner with her with each word that left her mouth.

And maybe a day will come when she would look back on this decision and regret it. Maybe it was the unexpected tenderness of seeing him get along with her brother or the sympathy for another person unable to enjoy a family dinner, but something in Yuina felt a strange discomfort at the idea of sending off her classmate so bluntly after that ominously ambiguous response about his family dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually hit a weird block with this chapter and ended up getting distracted writing drabbles of things I'll use in later chapters instead. I'm really bad at doing things in an organized and conventional manner but I guess the good news is that this means some future chapters might even be double releases at this rate of jumping back and forth in my writing...?
> 
> Again, thank you so much to everyone leaving comments and kudos ; w; It actually means so much to me considering I started writing this with absolutely no expectation of anyone reading it, and I really thought I'd just end up kind of archiving it online with nobody actually looking at it.


	11. Dinner for two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's just reheated leftovers."  
"I'd still eat it every day if I had the choice."

Aside from the sound of water running from the faucet, it was eerily quiet in the kitchen. So much so that Yuina silently admonished herself for inviting Terushima over for dinner without thinking it through. The two stood awkwardly side by side, one washing potatoes as the other worked away at deftly peeling the potatoes. Occasionally their elbows would bump and Yuina would mutter an apology that withered into a squeak. Terushima was acting uncharacteristically awkward as well. Whether it was the foreign environment or the humbling situation of being elbows deep in cold water and vegetables, the blonde was exceptionally reserved.

"Oh." Yuina raised a hand to her mouth, causing the blonde boy to stop in his tracks. "You don't have to scrub the carrots that hard," she said quietly, putting the last of the peeled potatoes down on the cutting board. "I'm going to be peeling the skin off, so it's alright if they're not perfectly clean," she explained with an amused smile. When Terushima Yuuji offered to help with meal preparation, she wasn't sure what to expect—but at least he was giving it his all.

Terushima stared blankly at the brush and carrot he has been scrubbing away at so furiously as if he couldn't comprehend why he wouldn't want to clean the vegetables more thoroughly. It was a small gap in knowledge but one that really drove home just how little time he had spent in a kitchen.

Yuina reached over to turn off the faucet and gently took the carrot and brush from the blonde's hands. There wasn't much she could have him help with considering his complete lack of experience in cooking. Now that she thought about it, home economics was the only subject she seemed to consistently beat his score on and now she knew why. She smiled wryly at the idea of genius super athlete Terushima being as helpless as a child in the kitchen.

"Alright. New mission," the brunette announced as she reached into a cabinet and procured a large glass bowl and some plastic gloves. She held up the gloves and pointed to the package of ground beef on the counter. "You're going to put these on and just mix one egg into the ground beef, and I'll add the vegetables while you're mixing."

The blonde's eyes lit up at the suggestion. "Is this the hamburg steak!?" It had been his request to add the item to tomorrow's menu after all. Something about it just seemed to so very in-character for Terushima to be the type who's into hamburg steak. It just felt like it made sense for him to have the appetite of a child.

But she was curious to confirm her theory nonetheless. "What other foods do you like?"

He seemed to ponder briefly before he began his list. "Wiener pan, omurice, oyako don and hayashi rice?" Terushima had his chin in his hand as he listed off the foods with a serious expression on his face.

"Ah, Sakuya loves omurice too," Yuina chimed in cheerfully. "He gets upset if you put the ketchup on for him because he wants to draw on it," she chuckled.

"Hey!" Terushima frowned, ears red as he wagged a finger in her face. "Don't laugh at him, that's the best part!"

She erupted into a peal of giggles at Terushima's genuinely offended reaction. She shook her head as she turned her attention back to the finely chopped vegetables on the cutting board. "Okay, sure," she shrugged as she added the vegetables to Terushima's mixing bowl, "I'll make sure to save the ketchup for you next time!"

It was something she said caught up in the moment, without giving the implication much though. And it wasn't until after the words had left her mouth that she had stopped to wonder if a part of her was even planning on a next dinner with Terushima Yuuji at all.

But the blonde boy didn't seem to read too into the statement or think of it too seriously as he turned his nose up at her and declared, "Yeah, you'd better!"

She could only leave him in charge of simple (and non-dangerous) tasks but most of the preparation work did go by faster with the extra set of hands. Even if all he had done was clean some vegetables, mix some ingredients and gather up the trash. With the last of the patties neatly covered in the fridge, Yuina turned her attention to dinner. She felt kind of bad treating a guest to leftovers for dinner, but up until a few hours ago, she wouldn't even have fathomed that she'd be sitting down for dinner with Terushima Yuuji. In her own kitchen, no less.

Terushima, tasked with setting the table was going nearly cross-eyed as he placed the cutlery at opposing ends of the table. He'd step back, eye the setting, then nudge one of the spoons to the right by half a centimetre or shift the small dish of pickled eggplants from one side of the table to the other.

Interrupting his earnest and meticulous setting of the table, Yuina haphazardly placed the pot of reheated stewed beef and potatoes somewhere roughly at the center fo the table. "Go ahead and have a seat," she offered as she pulled the lid off and set it aside atop a tea cloth on the counter.

"Did you make this too?" the boy asked, peering over her shoulder at the earthenware pot at the center of the setting. It wasn't anything super fancy, just the stereotypical Japanese home cooking. Nikujaga with some pickled side dishes—it was something you might easily find at any family's dinner table—but Terushima Yuuji gaped at it as if so utterly impressed by the simple meal.

Yuina nodded, setting down two bowls of rice at opposing seats on the table. "My parents work late during the week so I end up doing most of the housework. Sakuya is good about helping with cleaning, though." She seated herself at one end of the table and motioned for the visitor to do the same. "But you know, I never expected Bobata-kun to be able to cook," she thought aloud, picking up her chopsticks.

"Tell me about it," Terushima laughed as he followed suit. "Itadakimasu."

"You didn't know either?" the brunette asked, surprised. She had figured the boys' volleyball team were pretty close but that probably explained why the taller boy seemed almost hesitant to admit that he knew how to cook. It didn't really suit his image, after all. Speaking of people defying her expectations, Terushima Yuuji being so stubborn about pulling his weight was something else Yuina hadn't expected. To think that Terushima was sitting at her table eating leftovers for dinner with her.

The blonde ate voraciously. "Oh, shit, this is great!" he asserted enthusiastically as he popped another piece of the beef into his mouth. He hummed in glee as he ate simple everyday fare like a starved man before a luxury buffet.

The corners of Yuina's lips curved up into a small smile. There was a strange kind of warmth by just having someone sitting with you at the dinner table. The brunette had always told herself she didn't mind eating alone—but to have someone across from her so openly enjoying her cooking admittedly left her feeling a little fuzzy inside. "It's just reheated leftovers," she laughed as she watched Terushima devour yesterday's cooking with vigour.

"Hey," Terushima raised his spoon pointedly, "I'd still eat it every day if I had the choice." He soon returned his attention to his meal and Yuina held back a chuckle as she shook her head. Grandiose exaggerations aside, the blonde did genuinely seem to be enjoying dinner.

The vague atmosphere from earlier was still nagging at the back of her mind, however, and Yuina—despite knowing better—relented to her meddlesome curiosity. "Do you not usually eat at home?" she inquired, trying to seem casual as she avoided his eyes and picked at grains of rice with her chopstick. Was she overstepping a boundary? But it could still just sound like a harmless question right?

He was silent for a beat. "Guess not," the blonde shrugged. "My folks are out of town a lot, and even when they're here they don't really keep tabs on their kids much," he spoke indifferently as he took a sip of his tea. Something in his answer made Yuina feel a twinge of… guilt? Like she was prying open Pandora's box. Or was it pity? But who was she to decide she had the right to pity him? "Not that I care much," Terushima chuckled coolly. "Keeps 'em off my back and l get to do what I want!"

Or so he said, but this version of easygoing and carefree Terushima suddenly seemed just a little too laid-back and cheerful. But again, the same old grin on his face had convinced Yuina that she was reading too into things. How insolent she had grown in the span of one afternoon together that she might dare let herself think she could get a read on Terushima Yuuji.

'You're just classmates,' she reminded herself. 'Draw the line.'


	12. Skill vs enjoyment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuina decides whoever invented the three-legged race must have been a sadist.

> **SpoFes Picnic Party (6)**
> 
> [08:01] Sana♡: good morning (*ゝω・)ﾉ☆  
[08:03] Kaorin: Is everyone ready?  
[08:04] KAZ: I'm pumped!  
[08:04] Yuuji: super pumped!!!  
[08:05] Takeharu: H Y P E  
[08:06] Yui: There was so much to do I almost didn't get to sleep ('～`;)  
[08:06] Kaorin: You should have called me over to help...  
[08:06] Yuuji: eh!? even tho i helped?  
[08:06] KAZ: Huh? (ʘᗩʘ)  
[08:06] Sana♡: asdkjhsd!! what!!  
[08:07] Takeharu: ??????  
[08:07] Kaorin: … Did Terushima go over to your place???

Brown eyes widened blankly as pink lips were drawn taut into a forced smile. Yuina quickly stuffed her cellphone into her pocket, trying to pretend the last thirty seconds hadn't just happened. Maybe she misread the messages. But the relentless notification pings from her phone made her afraid to open up the chat again. Hastily flicking her phone into silent mode, the brunette took a deep breath and adjusted the luggage in her hands. The school gates were in sight and somehow her footsteps felt heavier than a few minutes ago.

Would they ask about it? How was she going to answer? Was there any way to make it sound like an acceptable situation? What if Terushima was already saying something in the chat—

"Ah! Kikuchi-senpai!"

A hazel haired girl with docile brown eyes jogged up to Yuina from behind. She recognized her as the first-year manager of the boys' volleyball team whom she had become acquainted with recently. "Runa-chan, right? Good morning," the brunette greeted with a friendly smile.

The younger girl glowed at the recognition. "Good morning!" she greeted eagerly with a polite bow of her head. Then, pointing at the large furoshiki bundle in the brunette's hands, Kuribayashi Runa tilted her head slightly to the side in curiosity. "Did you make all of that for the Sports Festival?"

Yuina laughed sheepishly, shifting the bundle from one hand to the other. "I ended up taking a few too many requests from some troublemakers," she admitted, looking at her ground and tucking her hair behind her ear as it fell in front of her face.

"Yuina-chan~" An uncomfortably familiar voice called her name in that usual sing-song tone, rapidly growing closer with the sound of footsteps running up toward her. She didn't even need to lift her head to recognize the owner of the voice—it was the same voice she had heard day in and day out these past few days. "Did you sleep enough? Is that the bento? Should I carry it for you? I'll carry it for you!"

"Wh—" Before she had even had the chance to protest, the bundle was swiped from her hands as Terushima beamed with childlike pride. Instinctively, Yuina's face set into a small frown (a pout, really) at the feeling that she had been had once again and was being carried off at Terushima's pace as usual. 

"Eh? Runa-chan's here too?" Terushima, as if just having noticed the first-year, turned with a look of surprise. "Good mornin', Runa-chan! You ready for your first SpoFes?" He grinned, as good-natured as ever, but it only seemed to have about 80% of the obnoxious rowdiness that Yuina felt she was usually on the receiving end of. Terushima got along pretty well with just about everyone, but why did she feel that he was louder and just a bit more all over the place when she was talking to him? Or maybe it was just a side effect of overexposure to Hurricane Terushima in these last few days.

Runa smiled politely as she greeted the team captain. "It seems the two of you are close after all," the younger girl laughed delicately as she referenced her introduction to Yuina in which she and Terushima had given opposing answers about their friendship.

"She even made me dinner!" "No, we're not really that—"

And today was no exception to their manzai act.

Yuina's words caught in her throat as grey eyes fell upon Terushima proudly holding up the wrapped bento box. Planting her hands on her hips, she gave a small huff. "It's not like I made that for you," she mumbled, brows furrowed. "It was only because Sakuya went ahead and invited you over..." The previous evening had only happened as the result of a series of various circumstances. Terushima was insistent about helping, and Sakuya was looking to irritate her, and maybe she felt a little sting at the idea of sending someone home to dinner in solitude.

The first-year blinked, lost in the missing context. "Um," she opened her mouth, trying to fill the lull in the conversation. "Kikuchi-senpai, are you a good cook?" A harmless and polite question to fill the silence.

"There was nikujaga and it was suuuper good!" the blonde interjected eagerly before Yuina had even opened her mouth. His eyes had the same ecstatic glint they did at dinner and the brunette felt the corners of her lips creeping up in the same smile was the night before. It was strange, after all, that someone could get so genuinely excited over reheated leftovers.

Lightly shaking her head, Yuina answered, "I'm just average." As flattering as the blonde's excitement was, Yuina knew her cooking wasn't anything all that special. "It's just regular home cooking," she shrugged as the trio continued their slow approach to the school gates. 

But Terushima crossed his arms and tilted his head, a small frown on his face, as if deep in thought. "Isn't that what makes it good?" he pondered aloud, brows knitting together. "It tastes exactly like what a family dinner should taste like. Like… warm? Or comforting? Or something?"

Yuina's footsteps faltered ever so slightly. Her parents or Sakuya were always good about thanking her for cooking but that was as far as their routine went. While Sana and Kaori were quick to pepper her with praise, Yuina had always shrugged it off as just "things her friends said". But Terushima Yuuji was making such a direct and specified compliment about her cooking that she almost felt like she was hearing something she shouldn't.

"Like a mom's cooking?" Runa asked, putting a finger to her chin.

Terushima's forehead creased as his eyebrows furrowed even more. "Uh, yeah," he replied without much conviction. Maybe his mother didn't cook much, was Yuina's thought in passing. "Anyway, it's still really good and today's lunch is gonna be awesome!"

Turning her attention to the younger girl and to the day's event, Yuina spoke. "Runa-chan, are you good at sports?"

But the first-year smiled sheepishly as her cheeks flushed pink. "I'm actually not very athletic," she admitted quietly. "It's ironic, isn't it? That I'd be the manager of a volleyball team when I can't play sports?"

"I used to be really clumsy as a kid," Yuina began, seemingly out of the blue. Both Terushima and Runa turned to stare with similar looks of confusion. "And I was really bad at sports. One summer when I was little, there were these kids playing soccer in the park near my house," her eyes grew distant and her tone softened as she fondly recalled the memory. "One of the boys asked me why I didn't want to join in, and I replied that it was because I was bad at soccer. But he made this face as if I was speaking gibberish and said, 'You don't play soccer because you're good at it, you play it because it's fun' as if it was the most obvious thing in the world." 

This was, of course, the part where she neglects to mention why she so vividly remembered a short exchange from over ten years ago. Or the trivial detail that this was her short-lived experience of child-like first love. Now, it was just theology that stuck with her. Some neighbourhood boy who left an impression.

Turning to meet the eyes of the younger girl, Yuina smiled. "I don't think you have to be skilled at something to care about it and enjoy it."

It was Terushima's turn to say something surprisingly uplifting. "Nobody thinks you're any less of a manager because you can't play volleyball," he laughed. And for the briefest moment, his laughing profile reminded Yuina of the nosy little boy laughing at her far too serious concern over the decision to play soccer.

* * *

The morning went by in a blur. Students were ushered from classrooms and herded onto the schoolyard to be packed like sardines for the opening ceremony. Yuina hadn't so much as caught a glimpse of Kaori or Sana, or even Bobata or Futamata. After having forced herself to ignore the group chat since earlier in the morning, she was almost grateful to delay seeing any of them face to face. Maybe by lunch, everyone would have forgotten what was said in the morning.

"Kikuchi!" One of Yuina's classmates called out to her. "Can you take Satou's place for the three-legged race? They drew her name but she can't participate because of her asthma," the boy explained, indicating their frail-looking classmate. Satou Ai was infamous for her weak constitution, after all.

Yuina bit her lip. Running was not quite her forte. She wouldn't have minded activities like the beanbag toss but she had hoped to avoid the relay and other running activities this year. Catching the apologetic look on her sickly classmate's face, however, Yuina felt she could not refuse. "I don't know if I'm the best choice, but I'll do my best," she said, nervously scratching her cheek.

Her classmate chuckled and lightly pat her shoulder. "I'm sure it'll balance out since you're paired with the stupidly athletic Terushima anyway!" Say what now? She was going to do what with whom?

Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear. "Does this mean I get to participate with Yuina-chan now?" An excited voice called loudly from behind. Terushima clapped his hands on both of Yuina's shoulders and steered her away from their class and toward the track. "I've got a good feeling about this one now that I've got my goddess of victory with me!" the blonde whooped eagerly.

Their classmates chuckled as they waved the pair off. "Good luck! Don't let us down! Go for gold!"

"Terushima-kun, maybe we should set our expectations more realistically," Yuina laughed nervously as she was pushed toward inevitability. If the three-legged race sounded like a bad idea before, it sounded absolutely terrible now. "Maybe you forgot, but I'm not the best runner and I really doubt I could keep up with your pace."

But the blonde laughed raucously as he started tugging her along behind him. "Maybe I should carry you and run!" He couldn't be serious, right? Even for Terushima that had to be a bad joke, right? Right? "Oh," he paused midstep, "I guess that doesn't work if we're tied at the ankle..."

Had he seriously been considering it!? Yuina felt her worry shoot through the roof. It wasn't even noon yet and she could feel her energy bottoming out quick.

Suddenly, Terushima turned and gave her a breezy smile. "Alright, when I say "one" we'll step with our attached foot, and when I say "two" we'll step with our free ones," he explained, sounding surprisingly reasonable in light of his previous suggestion. "I'll match your pace so you don't have to worry about tripping." It was an unexpectedly practical solution considering the kind of things that usually came out of his mouth. So much so that Yuina blankly nodded along in response.

And before she knew it, they were standing among the other dozen or so running pairs as a volunteer tied their ankles together. This was starting to seem like a bad idea all over again.

"Is that too tight?" The volunteering student questioned, peering up from her handiwork.

Yuina lightly flexed her leg then shook her head. "I think it's alright, thank you," she said, as Terushima hummed in agreement.

"Alright, good luck," the volunteer smiled as she moved down the line to assist the next pair.

Once left to stand ready at the start line, Terushima gently nudged the shoulder pressed against his—making Yuina hyperaware of their close proximity. "Psst," he whispered harshly, leaning down over to her ear. "How do you think we'll place?" He grinned, taking in their competition. "Ooh, look! It's Nishimoto, the captain of the basketball team," the blonde whispered excitedly, pointing out the tall second year with short hair.

"Um," Yuina looked around recognizing many of the participants from various sports teams and… Oh god, was that Kaori? "Average?" she squeaked shrinking away.

Terushima, however, puffed up his chest in confidence. "You know we went to semifinals," he said in reference to the volleyball team. "We're way better than the basketball team. And you've got the captain of that amazing volleyball team with you, you can stand to aim a little higher," the blonde chuckled as he threw his arm around Yuina's shoulders and pulled her into his side.

Panicked grey eyes shot up to meet the relaxed pair of brown eyes. "What are you doing?" she whispered harshly, eyeing his hand on her shoulder.

The blonde casually reached around with his other hand to wrap her arm around his own waist. "It's gonna make running real uncomfortable if you're not holding on properly," he whispered. Pointing at the numerous runner pairs who stook awkwardly apart from their partners save for their connected ankles, he spoke, "See that? What good is having two heads if they don't wanna work together?" Then, giving a light squeeze on her shoulder, Terushima beamed. "But we're different, right, Yuina-chan?"

It was then that Kikuchi Yuina decided that she didn't like it when Terushima Yuuji made good points. Unable to protest, she held on to the side of his shirt quietly. Who invented the three-legged race anyway? Whoever it was must have enjoyed watching others suffer and make fools of themselves. What a dirty hobby to have, to tie people together and force them to run.

The participating pairs straightened up as the volunteers at opposing ends of the starting line raised their flags. One of the phys ed teachers held up a starting pistol. Tension seemed to sweep over the runners like a large wave. Yuina gulped loudly, but her eyes flit to the side only to see Terushima at ease with his trademark grin across his lips. Seeing him as carefree as always sort of eased her own tension; Terushima Yuuji was nothing if not easy-going. Maybe she'd be okay after all.

The sound of the pistol split through the air with a crack.

"One!" Yuina's attention snapped to the race at hand and she naturally stepped forward with her right leg as it was gently pulled forward by Terushima. "Two!" She kicked forward with her free leg this time. "One!" Again with their third leg. She wasn't certain for the first few seconds, but she was sure now: Terushima was taking smaller strides in consideration for her smaller stature. "Two!" Their rhythm kept up steadily. Wait, steadily? "One, two! One, two!" Yuina's brows furrowed together as Terushima continued to call out their pace. Was it getting faster?

What had started out as an easy jog had suddenly yet seamlessly worked its way up to a breathtaking run, and it took all of Yuina's focus to keep her head up. If she looked down now, she might trip over her own feet. Or worse, Terushima's. She kept her head up but the sight of the finish line hardly registered as she felt the burn of cold air through her lungs and the lactic acid starting to burn through her calves.

"We did it!"

Only at those words did her vision seem to sharpen to the world around her again. The reddish-brown of the running track, the clamour of students cheering from the sides, and Terushima Yuuji inches from her face. His face was barely flushed compared to her own which felt hot as lava. He was laughing. Yuina looked around as the race pairs passed through the finish line behind them one by one. She breathed quickly and heavily as if trying to catch up on the breathing she hadn't been able to do during the last minute.

Terushima leaned down and roughly tugged at the ribbon that held together their feet. "What was that about average?" he laughed as he pulled their connected ankles free. "We're second!" Terushima bellowed as their classmates cheered louder from the sidelines. He threw his arms around her and picked her right off the ground with ease. Yuina instinctively squeaked as the ground was swept out from beneath her, but the buzz of excitement soon took over as other students from class 7 ran up to them.

Classmates laughed and congratulated, ruffled their hair and squeezed. "What was that about being a bad choice? You did great!" And for maybe the first time, she found herself laughing among her classmates without care.


	13. Hobby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuina ponders high school friendships and their delicate balance. And finds a new hobby.

"Kikuchi-san, do you want to eat with us?" Yuina turned to come face to face with a handful of her classmates she had gotten better acquainted with in the past few hours. It was strange, they had spent weeks in the same class but she hadn't really _conversed_ with many of them prior to this day. Before today, she might not have fathomed the idea of spending time with her classmates outside of the classroom. Perhaps this was that Sports Festival magic at work once more.

She gave a genuinely apologetic smile. "Maybe next time?" the brunette offered sheepishly. Yuina picked up the large bundled bento box lying atop her desk. "I promised to have lunch with some friends today," she explained turning toward the group of girls who had huddled their desks together.

A familiar head poked its head into the classroom. "Yuina-chan, they're saying they found a spot behind the second gym," Terushima called from the threshold of the classroom.

The eyes of the class 7 girls flit between Kikuchi Yuina and Terushima Yuuji in curiosity. Though nobody really thought to put the question into words, many of their classmates had been curious about whatever was going on between those two. They made the most unlikely pair and yet it wasn't rare to catch the mismatched duo in each other's presence as of late.

"I should go," Yuina spoke timidly, vaguely aware of what others must think and far too conscious of the curious looks directed at Terushima and herself. "But um, I'll make sure to take you up on the offer some other time!" She turned and ushered the blonde away from prying eyes.

Clueless, Terushima curious eyes lingered on their classmates who waved them goodbye from the other side of the door. "Did they want something with you?"

Yuina gave a small shrug as the pair strode down the hallway. "They invited me to eat with them."

The blonde put his hands in his pockets with a small nod. She mostly saw Terushima in the company of his teammates from the boys' volleyball team, but he got along quite well with everyone as far as she could tell.

Yuina on the other hand, though she had known Sana since middle school they hadn't really become friends until they realized they were the only ones who had enrolled at Johzenji. And Kaori seamlessly worked her way into their friend group in their first year. Yuina wasn't the best at maintaining her relationships and had naturally drifted apart from many middle school friends after graduation. And though she had a perfectly functional relationship with her classmates, she didn't really know how to approach them and before she had realized, they had all formed cliques of their own, leaving her to retreat to the familiar comfort of Sana and Kaori.

"You don't usually hang out with people from class, huh?" Terushima pondered innocently, hitting the nail on the head. It made Yuina briefly stop in her tracks as she examined his expression to try and determine if there was any deeper meaning to what he said. But Terushima simply turned around confused as to why they were stopping. It was just a harmless observation and she was reading too far into it. "What's up?" the blonde asked, staring at Yuina stopped in the middle of the hallway.

"Nothing." She picked up her footsteps and continued toward the stairwell. "I guess I'm not particularly close to anyone in class," Yuina shrugged, passing Terushima at the turn of the stairs. Not having a close friend in class wasn't particularly something that bothered her, she had great friends outside of it. But it would have been a lie if she had said she'd never felt a twinge of envy seeing classmates pull their desks together at lunch or immediately pair up for group assignments without hesitation.

The blonde listened, uncharacteristically reserved as he followed after the petite girl. Stretching arms over his head, he casually suggested, "We should eat with some people in class next time."

Yuina smiled over her shoulder. "In case you weren't paying attention: they invited me, not you," she quipped, a teasing grin tugging at the corners of her lips.

Terushima sulked exaggeratedly as he stomped down the stairs after the girl. "Girls _love_ me, they'd be over the moon to have me there!" he argued defensively as he lightly chased after a giggling Yuina floating down the stairs. His overdramatic pout was soon replaced by a grin as he pursued the brunette and continued to loudly insist on his own popularity. It wasn't until the pair had made their way out to the gymnasium that the spirited banter had subsided. The two were instead focused on spotting familiar faces for long-awaited lunch arrangements.

"Over here!" Futamata shouted, waving both arms over his head. The small group sat on a picnic mat laid out in the shade of a plum tree. It wasn't exactly the most scenic spot on school grounds but it was cool and quiet, hidden behind the gym and away from the masses on the fields and courtyard. "There's our three-legged monster!" the dark-haired boy teased as Yuina and Terushima approached.

Kaori laughed and pulled Yuina by the arm and sat her down next to her. "Why couldn't you be that speedy during tennis!" she joked as she nudged her side playfully. "I'm a little bitter I lost but I'm so proud of you, Yui!"

"Who would have thought Yui and Terushima would have such good synergy," Sana quipped, waggling her brows.

With a scoff and a shake of her head, Yuina gently shoved off Kaori. "I really thought my lungs would explode, okay?" she groaned as she recalled the three-legged race. Running activities were never her strong suit. "And you!" Pointing an accusatory finger, she turned toward the blonde as he sat down on her other side. Terushima pointed at himself and raised his brows in confusion. "You can't just pick up the pace like that without warning me!"

There was a short pause before the blonde broke out into laughter. "C'mon it all worked out, didn't it? You kept up fine, and we even came in second!"

But Yuina furrowed her brows. "I had to keep up or I would have tripped—we would have both tripped!" she huffed as she crossed her arms. What would he have done if she couldn't keep up? Did he even think that far ahead? Then again, Terushima Yuuji had never struck her as the type to dawdle on thinking about things like consequences or the chance of negative outcomes.

"Besides," the blonde cracked a wide, tooth flashing grin, "I knew we could do it."

Things like "what if" didn't exist in Terushima's world. There was never any worry for if things had gone badly, only the thrill and anticipation of the win. Whether it was simple ignorance or terrifying optimism, Yuina sort of envied the alarming positivity with which he lived his life.

But she was different. "We could have gotten hurt," she stated methodically. If Terushima Yuuji's way was to blindly chase the euphoria of victory, Kikuchi Yuina was one to systematically calculate outcomes and minimize all risk.

"No way," Terushima shrugged easily, earning himself another sharp glare from the brunette. With lips slowly curling up into a roguish grin, he leaned in to rest his chin against his palm. "I would never let you get hurt." There was no winning against him. You just couldn't logically argue someone who lived unconstrained by the laws of common sense. She should have known to give up on him.

Bobata and Futamata gave low whistles as they witnessed the exchange. "Way to go!" Bobata hooted.

"What a man, that Terushima~" Futamata chimed in, suggestively nudging the blonde's shoulder.

With a groan, Yuina buried her face in her hands. It had been much too peaceful in the past few days. She had grown complacent in the peace and quiet, complacent to a point she had almost forgotten what a scandalous and incorrigible flirt Terushima Yuuji could be. Or how this King of the Monkeys became exponentially more insufferable when in the presence of his monkey army.

It was then that Sana spoke. "Are you hitting on my Yui-chan!" she huffed, hands on her hips. Finally, a saviour! Her frown soon melted into a look of mischief. "I'll cheer you on, Terushima!"

"_Sana!_" Yuina hissed, her jaw left hanging.

"Who knows, you might have a chance," Kaori chipped in with an excessively pensive look on her face. "You're the second-ever boy to set foot in the Kikuchi household, after all." And there it was. She should have known that her friends were merely hanging on to the morning's intel for later use. She should have known that they wouldn't have forgotten.

Terushima's eyes lit up. "Second?" he repeated loudly. "Who's the first?"

With a pout, Yuina turned her attention to her two friends. "If you don't want to eat, I'm going to take this and go!" Yuina threatened as she pretended to get up and reached for the two bentos she had just set down. The group sitting on the picnic mat erupted into panic as they sat the brunette back down. Arms folded over her chest in displeasure, the girl gave a small huff.

"I'm kidding!" Kaori pleaded with an apologetic smile.

Sana giggled from across the mat. "Me too! Of course, I'd only allow the finest match for our Yui-chan~" the girl stated proudly.

"Who's the firsssttt?" Terushima demanded again, callow curiosity burning like a fire behind his eyes. He then scowled and turned toward Sana, "And I'll have you know, I'm a hell of a catch." There was a childlike pout on his face as the blonde crossed his arms over his chest proudly. "I'm athletic, handsome, stylish and I get good grades to boot."

Well, there was no denying half of that statement at least. But something about the juvenile defensiveness made Yuina feel an uncharacteristic desire to tease him a little, to put a chink in that cool guy armour of his. With a mischievous smile creeping up on her face, the brunette turned to casually set out the various tiers of the bento.

"And yet, you can't peel a potato," she sighed.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Terushima flush pink and silently revelled in her shallow victory with a small smile. She was so often on the receiving end of Terushima's teasing that it was almost cathartic to not be on the receiving end this time. In fact, seeing the look on his face, she just may have discovered a new hobby.


	14. Curiosity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curiosity killed the cat, and this is one cat who isn't eager to rush to an early death.

With lunch thoroughly enjoyed and wrapped up, the members of the volleyball team set off to prepare for their demonstration during the afternoon. And once they had waved the boys out of sight, Sana and Kaori both turned toward Yuina and leaned in. Unnerved, the brunette gulped loudly as she leaned away. "So," Sana began slowly as the corners of her lips curled up into a Cheshire grin, "what exactly happened with Terushima going over to your place last night?" Next to her, Kaori was leaning into her palm, gently tapping her fingers against her cheek. Both pairs of eyes burned with countless questions as they trained on grey irises that seemed to be looking anywhere but back at theirs.

"Nothing happened," Yuina mumbled defensively, fixing her gaze on fastidiously tying up the furoshiki cloth around the neatly stacked bento boxes.

But Kaori leaned in until her shoulder was touching against her own. "So why'd you invite him in?" It was out of the ordinary for Yuina to invite anyone over. Kaori and Sana were more or less the only visitors to the Kikuchi household these days, and it would be too far a stretch to think either of them would believe that Terushima Yuuji stayed over for dinner with no rhyme nor reason to the evening.

With a sigh, Yuina relented and decided to explain the whole story. Starting from Terushima's stubborn insistence on helping with menial labour, to Sakuya's misunderstanding and one-sided assault of the stranger.

"I guess most people would think he was some yankee," Kaori laughed. "I mean, on top of bleaching his hair he has all those piercings." Nobody should be judged on their appearance, but Yuina would be lying through her teeth if she said she hadn't had the same first impression of Terushima Yuuji. "I can't even imagine what a scene it must have been!" She was evidently holding back her laughter as she envisioned the sight of Sakuya nearly assaulting Terushima out of misunderstanding.

Sana hummed quietly as she slipped her shoes back on, posing an innocent question. "But you know, isn't that tongue piercing kind of… you know," she paused, searching for the right word, "erotic?"

A sudden cough went up from Yuina as she struggled to properly swallow her tea. She lightly beast on her chest as Kaori jumped in panic.

"Oh, come on!" The blonde girl exploded into a peal of giggles as she gently rubbed her friend's back. "I mean, Terushima isn't really my type but even you must have fantasized about it at some point? Tongue piercing?" she goaded, playfully quirking a brow.

At this point, the taller girl leaned back on her hands as she seemed to take a moment to ponder. "It's pretty unusual, though," Kaori contemplated, head lazily lolling to one side. "I don't think it would have even _occurred_ to most people to fantasize about it," she replied sincerely. Was this a real conversation they were having? Were they honestly having a serious discussion about guys with tongue piercings? "Do you think it would feel all that different?"

Would it? But a tongue piercing wasn't exactly imposing or large, so she couldn't imagine that you would really notice it much. Then again, wouldn't it be hard to _not_ notice a metal ball in your mouth? Speaking of, is it not distracting for people with tongue piercings? Also, doesn't it kind of hurt to have your _tongue_ pierced? Brows knitting together in concern, Yuina found herself rolling her own tongue against the roof of her mouth as her fingers had idly wandered to her lips—wondering.

Catching her gaze with a sly simper, Sana held up a finger before her friends' faces. "Isn't that exactly what makes it fun to think about?"

Yuina rolled her eyes pointedly as she gently shoved Sana away from her face. "I cannot believe you," she spoke exasperatedly as a small giggle escaped Kaori. She then turned toward the taller girl, wearing a light scowl. "And you, go ask your boyfriend to pierce his tongue if you're so curious," she harrumphed and huffed as she viciously pulled at the two ends of the furoshiki knot in her hands.

Kaori laughed uncomfortably and averted her gaze. It was Sana who followed up. "Don't you think it'd look really weird for Junta-san to have piercings?" She spoke in reference to Kaori's dry and straight-laced older boyfriend. "Like, could you even imagine Junta-san having a tongue piercing? He seems more like the type to pull out a student handbook and report you to faculty for having a piercing," the blonde giggled lightly. Kaori's cheeks flushed pink as she frowned defensively.

"Ehh? So Fujiwara is the one with a boyfriend?"

Startled, all three girls whipped around simultaneously to find Terushima Yuuji who—despite having just waved them goodbye moments ago—had seemingly materialized out of thin air.

"Wh– what's that supposed to mean!" Kaori huffed, crossing her arms as the pink of her cheeks blossomed into a deep crimson. To be fair, Kaori was always very lowkey about her own relationship. She hadn't told her friends until after she had confessed to the upperclassman a year ago, nor had she really kept them in the loop on the details of her romance. Terushima wouldn't be the first person to assume that Fujiwara Kaori had no boyfriend, or that she might even be interested in dating.

The blonde boy pursed his lips into a playfully apologetic smile, knowing he had hit a nerve.

"That's what happened when you never talk about him!" Sana exclaimed, backing him up. "What? Are you hiding Junta-san? I'm going to text him and tell him his girlfriend never wants to show him off and misleads everyone into thinking she's single!" the girl said, pretending to open up her phone. Kaori, now red all over, protested unintelligibly as she attempted to snatch Sana's phone out of her hands. Yuina let out a small chuckle as she watched the two girls run around like children playing keep-away.

Only when Terushima lightly nudged her elbow, did her attention return to the blonde's reappearance. A single corner of his lip was curled up into a teasing grin—and Yuina had the most terrible feeling. "What about you? No boyfriend to ask to get a tong—"

"Oh my God!" She hadn't even let him finish before she had gotten so worked up she had slapped him across the arm. Just how much of that ridiculous conversation had he heard? Of all the people that could have been overhearing! The blonde overexaggerated as he pretended to keel over from the pain. Yuina scoffed in disbelief, feeling the warmth pooling in her cheeks as she spoke, "Stop! I know that didn't even hurt!"

Impervious to her scolding, he let out a refreshed laughter as he stood up straight. "The health counsellor was looking for you, so I told her I'd let you know," he explained, wiping a tear from his eye.

'Laugh even harder at my misery, why don't you!?' Yuina accused silently as noted how he had literally cried laughing at her expense. That was it. She decided that any modicum of amity she felt for Terushima in the last twenty-four hours was officially null. Stubbornly, she exhaled loudly as she gathered up her belongings. Everything she had thought about him being kind of okay last night? Cancelled.

"Ah, Yui, are you leaving?" Sana called, casually jogging back to their spot under the tree. She was finished teasing Kaori for the moment, at least.

Yuina nodded. "I'm supposed to be volunteering at the first aid station in the afternoon." The brunette peeked at the time on her phone. That was probably why Hamasaki-sensei was looking for her, at least. "I'm gonna put this away and then go set up. I'll see you later?"

Kaori nodded with a smile. "Okay, work hard!" she cheered with a wave of her hands.

With a small laugh, the petite brunette waved back at her two friends who sent her of enthusiastically. It wasn't until she was a good few feet away that she turned toward Terushima who was, for whatever reason, walking along with her. "What?" she demanded warily as she eyed his pensive expression.

"Nothing," the blonde shrugged. "It's just," he paused, seemingly to think about something, "if you're at the first aid station… You'll have a perfect view of the volleyball demo in an hour, right?" Terushima beamed. He had said something about that last night, hadn't he? Claimed that the only reason she had never thought a volleyball player was cool is only because she hadn't watched them—or rather, him specifically—play.

Yuina gave a flat, unimpressed look. "You know, I'm just not really into volleyball in general," she said, skepticism thick in her tone. It wasn't that she wasn't impressed by athleticism in general, anyone would be awed by a good display of sportsmanship. She had just never really considered any particular sport to be more impressive or cool than another. And volleyball wasn't something she had any experience with outside of the limited knowledge forced upon her during physical education.

And though she could say nothing about his volleyball prowess or how his play supposedly made him popular with girls, she at least had to hand it to him for his passion. Terushima launched into a full (and completely incoherent nonsense) speech on the joys of volleyball. Whatever he meant by "that feeling like poooowww" or "slamming into your hand like KABAM" was Greek to her, of course. Yuina decided she would at least acknowledge his incomprehensible enthusiasm, at the very least.

Oh but this was all Sana's fault. That girl really knew how to add fuel to fire. Of course, Yuina had always known that Terushima had multiple piercings, including the one on his tongue. But knowing something at the back of your mind and becoming aware of it were two different things. And as much as she tried to control her gaze, she caught herself staring at the metallic glint whenever he spoke. And she wasn't the only one who noticed where her eyes lingered.

“Admit it, you’re wondering what it’s like to make out with a guy with a tongue piercing.” Terushima Yuuji smirked as he leaned in, brimming over with confidence.

But she didn’t miss a beat. “We all know what curiosity did to the cat,” she smiled back. “I think it’s safe to say that some questions are fine unanswered.” Check.

“Don’t you remember the rest of the saying? Curiosity may have killed the cat," he paused, meeting her gaze. "But satisfaction brought it back,” a wicked grin replaced the smug look on his face. “And you bet I can satisfy.” Checkmate.

Yuina balked, it took everything she had to not let her jaw drop. How did one person manage to be so full of themselves? Closing her eyes, the brunette took a slow and deep breath. She bit her tongue and forced herself to hold back from stooping to the level of replying to his provocations. With a controlled smile, she merely averted the subject. "Where did you say Hamasaki-sensei was, again?"

Like a child, Terushima pouted and stuck his tongue out at her reaction. "So you're just gonna pretend you didn't even hear me?" There was that twinkle of silver again. No! Focus! She was not going to be caught dead staring at his mouth now of all times. How hard could it be to look at anything that wasn't the tiny piece of metal that was Terushima Yuuji's tongue piercing? Right? 

"Oh, there's another one of the volunteers, I should go!" the brunette lied as she quickly walked ahead waving in farewell.

But Terushima was nothing if not stubborn and teasing as he laughed and called out after her, "I mean, you're still welcome to find out if you're curious!" Her cheeks burned as all the blood in her body seemed to rush to her face. Oh, this day could not end sooner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is. My magnum opus. That one exchange you all clicked on this terrible fic for. And this is just the tip of the rollercoaster iceberg :)))) Thank you as always for the kudos and comments ; o; <3 I really hope I can live up to everyone's expectations sdfhsf


	15. Tip of the iceberg

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes it takes learning something new about a person to realize, you don't really know them at all.

Fundamentally speaking, Yuina preferred to be busy, she preferred to have a number of tasks to keep herself occupied. She found it uncomfortable when she didn't know what to do, and being idle made her anxious. The exception to the rule was when she was attending to health committee duties. Being busy with work at a first aid station wasn't so much a good sign but instead signalled that bad things were happening. No sane person derives joy or fulfillment from the injuries of others. after all. 

But as expected of a sports festival, the afternoon was laden with small accidents and minor injuries. Many incidents were relatively minor: minor scrapes needing to be disinfected and bandaged, lots and lots of ice packs, a few anemic students needing some rest, there was now this one first-year who had likely sprained his wrist but the afternoon was quiet save for this singular case.

Grey eyes observed in quiet as slim fingers deftly worked to wrap the boy's wrist. Firmly pulling the end of the bandage taut, she anchored it into place with two metal clips. "Is that too tight?" Yuina asked, examining her handiwork.

The boy flexed his fingers a little. "I think it's okay, thank you."

"As sensei said, you should keep it iced and drop by a clinic to make sure it isn't anything serious," the brunette advised as she began to put away the excess medical supplies lying around the plastic table. Turning back toward the injured first year, she watched him with a hint of concern. "If you don't have any mandatory club-related activities in the afternoon, you might want to sit out."

The first-year boy gave a toothy grin in response. "The second-year senpais are the only ones taking part in our club demonstration but it's okay if I at least cheer them on, right?"

A half-hearted smile on her face, Yuina gave a small shrug of the shoulders. "Just make sure you're careful until you see a real doctor or until the swelling goes down," she chided playfully as the younger boy hopped to his feet. Despite his injury, he seemed rather chipper and in good health.

"Still, our captain was right! You really are like a goddess," the younger boy laughed, earning a confused look from the second-year. He waved his uninjured hand as he rose to his feet and prepared to rejoin his team for the club activity portion of the day. "Thanks, Kikuchi-san!"

Perplexed, Yuina furrowed her brows and rose to her feet. "Wait, what club are you in?"

"Volleyball!"

She stared dumbfounded at the diminishing figure of the first-year boy whose name she didn't even know. And he had to be in the Volleyball team of all the clubs in Johzenji High. Sitting back down with a sigh, Yuina put her fingers to her temple. If today hadn't been enough of a rollercoaster already, it seemed the universe was hellbent on reminding her of all the tumultuous ups and downs.

And now she was thinking about it again.

Ironic how that worked, wasn't it? The less you wanted to think about something, the better your subconscious got at pulling it to the front of your mind over and over again. It wasn't an idea she would have ever considered entertaining in the past, but Terushima's provocation replayed in her head again. Was she seriously wondering what it's like to kiss someone with a tongue piercing? And why was it that her psyche kept filling in the tongue-pierced stranger's face with the familiar confident smirk of a particular blonde?

'That's just because he's the only person you know with a tongue piercing,' she reasoned to herself, trying to make sense of the strangeness of it all. She was spending way too much time picturing Terushima's face for her own liking. To think, this was never a problem she had to deal with in the past and for the incidents of one day to suddenly turn her daydreams upside down.

In fact, he wasn't even her type.

Terushima Yuuji was frivolous, didn't know the meaning of the term "inside voice", and he was completely over the top with his unwelcome advances. He was nothing like the kind of boys Yuina fantasized about. She was into kind, smart and dependable guys—the kind who would have eyes for her and her only. Her ideal man was nothing like Terushima, king of monkeys. For her to be seeing his face in her daydreams at all was nothing more than a flash of insanity.

This was all just a result of the strange string of incidents of the day getting to her. Terushima Yuuji was still nothing but a loud and overbearing classmate who she just happened to have dinner with and run a three-legged race with. As a result of unavoidable circumstances. Nothing more, nothing less.

Satisfied with her justifications, Yuina was able to resume tending to her responsibilities at the first aid station. With a smile and some words of concern, she would hand out bandaids or ice packs. And in a few minutes, the whole fantasizing-about-kissing-Terushima ordeal had sunk back down to some dark corner at the back of her mind yet again.

"Yuina-chan, it's time for our break," the other volunteer spoke, a gentle hand on her shoulder. Minami Shiho was a kind third-year and the mother hen of the health committee. The older girl turned to give simple directions to the new pair of volunteers who had appeared to relieve them of their duties. As she vacated her seat for her replacement, Yuina thought again that Shiho reminded her closely of the Hamasaki-sensei she looked up to so much.

The first-year volunteers nodded eagerly and bowed their heads in respect as their two upperclassmen turned from the table. "Shiho-san, I don't know what the committee will do once you've left," Yuina sighed.

The older girl let out a small giggle. "I think you'll manage just fine, Yuina-chan," she reassured her underclassman with a smile. "If you don't have plans for your break, do you want to come see something with me?" Shiho suggested with a twinkle in her eye.

"Okay!" Yuina nodded with an eager grin. She followed along as the older girl gently tugged her by the arm. "But where are we going?"

"My boyfriend retired as team captain some time ago but he won't stop talking about how his underclassmen are going to do great without him, so I figured I should cheer them on for him!" Minami Shiho's boyfriend. Who was that again? He had come to walk her home after health committee activities before and Yuina could vaguely recall his face… but what club did he belong to again?

At that moment, that same vaguely familiar face came jogging up to the two girls. "Shiho," the boy with the buzzed hair called. "What are you doing here?" He gave a small nod of the head to acknowledge Yuina's presence. Yep, that was him, but what was his name?

Streaks of bright yellow uniforms flickered from the corner of her field of vision. And to accompany her ill-boding feeling, a terribly familiar voice shouted her name. "Yuina-chan!" Okudake. Shiho's boyfriend was Okudake Seiji, the previous captain of the boys' volleyball team—why did he have to remember this now? Which meant the owner of that voice was, of course, none other than the current captain of the boys' volleyball team.

Contrary to the tired expression on Yuina's face, both Shiho and Okudake looked taken aback as the blonde came zipping up to them. "You come to watch me play?" Terushima demanded eagerly, with an expectant puppy-like look in his eyes.

Okudake sighed with a hapless smile. "So you aren't even going to greet your old captain, is that it?"

Terushima's eyes went wide as saucers as he turned toward the third year next to him. "Okudake-san!? Man, I didn't even see you there!" He actually hadn't noticed his own captain until he had spoken up.

"Long time no see, Terushima-kun," Shiho chimed in.

The blonde looked startled as he finally took notice of the third person in the trio. "Minami-san is here too!" His laser-guided tunnel vision was almost impressive. "What are you all doing here with Yuina-chan?"

"Oh, Yuina-chan and I are on break from first aid duty. I thought I'd come to cheer on the team on Seiji's behalf, but I guess he beat me here," Shiho laughed, linking her arm through her boyfriend's. They were a different couple than Kaori and Junta. Where Kaori and Junta were more lowkey about their relationship and acted more like a comfortably married couple, Shiho wasn't shy about casual PDA or letting the whole world know just how in love she was. And Yuina felt a smile of envy bloom on her own face as she watched the older girl blissfully snuggle up against her boyfriend's arm.

"Speaking of," the former volleyball team captain's voice cut through the air. "You two know each other?" he asked, gesturing between the second year blonde and brunette pair before him with his free hand.

Yuina cleared her throat before Terushima could say anything strange. "We just happen to sit next to each other in class," she explained with a polite smile.

The blonde leaned in with a displeased look. "Yeah, but that was before we had our relationship development arc, right?" A what? Yuina turned to look at him, baffled. "You know, before I came over for dinner and we ran the race together and you said you wanted to try mak—"

_"Oh my god, nobody said that!"_ Yuina interrupted loudly, her cheeks blossoming crimson as the recollection of their earlier conversation rushed back to the front of her mind again. Every time she just barely managed to push it to the back of her mind, something somehow made her remember again. "Don't you have volleyballs to go hit!?" she demanded flustered as she shoved the blonde back toward his teammates.

Terushima's brows furrowed slightly as he reluctantly took a (forced) step back toward his team. "It was implied," he stressed, holding up a finger. "If you weren't thinking about it, you could have said you weren't but it's not like you said you weren't curious."

The third-year couple watched with amused looks on their faces as the pair in front of them bickered nonsensically. Stepping up to Yuina's aid, Okudake Seiji clapped his hands together for attention. "Terushima, you shouldn't leave your team by themselves as the captain," he reasoned, jerking his head toward the rest of the boys' volleyball team waving their arms in their direction. "The demo should start any minute now, you can't have your team walking up in front of that crowd without their captain in the lead."

And to Yuina's surprise, Terushima stopped resisting her shove and stood up straight to face his former captain. "Yessir, captain!" The look on his face was one of genuine respect. Who knew, even that Terushima Yuuji had people he looked up to. He looked almost tolerable when he had that serious look on his face. "Yuina-chan, don't swoon too hard when you see me playing~" Leave it to that Terushima to make her take back all her praise in a split second.

Yuina watched, tired, as the blonde trotted back to his team and earned a scolding from their coach. "Okudake-san, I'm just curious," she began, eyes still watching the blonde sheepishly apologizing, "what possessed you to make someone like him captain?"

Okudake and Shiho both burst into laughter. "I asked him that too when he first told me Terushima-kun would become the new captain!" Shiho chuckled in understanding.

The former team captain smiled wryly as he motioned for the two girls to follow behind him. The volleyball team was lined up single-file with Terushima at the front. The trio began making their way through the masses to find a spot in the audience. "I could tell you," Okudake mused as he came to a stop in a suitable spot. "But it might be better if you saw it for yourself."

The sharp sound of a whistle pierced through the air and all eyes snapped toward the court. The display started with a string of volleyball players performing serves in quick succession. At the end of the string of volleyball players, Terushima stood with an easy grin as he balanced a volleyball in one hand. He made a running approach to the line and leaped as he tossed the ball into the air. His arm pulled back then snapped forward, making contact against the ball with a powerful slap as it sent the blue and yellow ball sailing through the air and striking the ground on the opposite side of the net with a kind of force not yet seen in the earlier serves.

She didn't need to have an extensive understanding of volleyball to know that the team was skilled, and Terushima was an incredible athlete. The team cycled through demonstrations of spikes, then a synchronized attack in which four spikers moved as if going for the attack, followed by a short 3-on-3 match. Every single one of those boys was having fun on the court and their enjoyment was contagious as their whoops and cheers spread through the crowd. 

It was just like Okudake Seiji said.

The reason that Terushima Yuuji was captain, the reason why nobody else could possibly be the captain of the Johzenji boys' volleyball team, was plain as day. His love for the sport, his highly infectious energy, and the way his teammates showed their unspoken and unshakeable faith in his leadership—all these facets of him that she had not witnessed before made it clear how she had barely begun to scratch at the surface that was Terushima Yuuji.

And the wildest part? She felt something akin to curiosity, something like a desire to discover more of this Terushima she hardly knew.


	16. Ransom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Terushima Yuuji's flirting tip #41: coerce girls into spending time with you by holding their belongings hostage!

There was a moment during the volleyball team's demonstration, a fleeting instant where their eyes had met. Even with a sea of people between them, Yuina was led to believe that somehow his gaze found hers. She didn't need a mirror to know she had an awestruck look on her face. And it was just a split second and he was meters away but she could barely make out the look of ecstatic bliss on his face—and brown eyes burning into hers. By the time she had blinked, Terushima Yuuji was just another player on the court and she had to wonder if she had imagined the whole thing.

But she knew what she saw, and it was enough to have her hastily excuse herself from staying until the end of the demonstration. It made her uncomfortable. The newfound inquisitiveness burning at the back of her mind. The nerves churning almost like butterflies in her stomach ever since she'd caught his eyes from across the court. It was all strange and, honestly, mildly distressful. She didn't feel like herself all afternoon. And that's usually when Kikuchi Yuina knew it was a good time to throw herself into work, to keep her mind busy and distracted until she'd forget about the things that she didn't want to think about.

She was first to volunteer for every little task for the rest of the afternoon. Her phone all but forgotten in the pocket of her tracksuit as it silently pinged away chat notifications from not only the picnic group chat but also from a Terushima Yuuji.

The rest of the Sports Festival breezed by without incident.

It wasn't until Yuina was home, tuckered out and sprawled across her bed before she had thought to check her phone. There was some miscellaneous chatter in the group chat and direct messages from Terushima Yuuji.

> **Yuuji**
> 
> [13:39] Yuuji: u left so fast omg  
[14:56] Yuuji: yuina-chan where'd u go (╥﹏╥)  
[15:43] Yuuji: yuina-chaaaannn  
[17:02] Yui: I'm home  
[17:02] Yuuji: y did u leave the demo  
[17:02] Yui: I had to do health committee stuff  
[17:03] Yuuji: ok but what did u think ( ^ ω ^)  
[17:03] Yuuji: no need 2 hold back  
[17:04] Yui: Hmm…  
[17:04] Yuuji: ???  
[17:05] Yui: I guess it was alright  
[17:05] Yui: You looked almost cool  
[17:05] Yui: Almost 

With a simper, she placed her phone back down on her bed. Maybe it was a result of having kept herself occupied, or perhaps the strangeness of the afternoon had indeed just been a passing moment of madness, or maybe it was just the comfort of not speaking to someone face to face—but she felt relatively at ease replying to Terushima. She attributed the bizarre feelings from the afternoon to Sports Festival weirdness and reaffirmed that those butterflies she had felt in her stomach weren't actually butterflies and she was just stressed and tired from a long day.

Nothing had changed.

Terushima Yuuji was still just a loud and overly-friendly classmate who just happened to be kinda athletic and maybe a deserving captain of the volleyball team. But all else had stayed the same. Just the way she wanted it to.

Static, safe and stable.

Maybe the weekend would pass and she would decide to relent to him on the friendship argument just a tiny bit. She wouldn't go so far as to call Terushima Yuuji her friend just yet, but maybe she would at least admit—come Monday morning, at least—that he was on his way to becoming a friend. But the night was young, Monday felt far off, and Terushima Yuuji was still just a classmate who just happened to look a little cool during the Sports Festival. And that was enough for tonight.

* * *

A brisk and sunny Sunday afternoon, the final chapter to a peacefully laid-back weekend. The excitement of the Sports Festival ebbed away to a relaxed sense of everyday normalcy. Things weren't exactly as they were a week ago, but there was no strange sense of newness to the idle chatter in the group chat. A chat initially formed for the purpose of one lunch had evolved into a strange group of… friends, almost. The conversation had naturally drifted to new topics after the Sports Festival had ended, and flowed naturally between the two patchwork trios.

Yuina strolled lazily through the streets, scrolling through her phone as she sparely sipped at the lukewarm hot chocolate she had been carrying around for far too long. The chat had grown unnaturally quiet in the afternoon with both the more talkative Futamata and Terushima having adopted radio silence for a shocking three hours and counting (a record, really).

It wasn't until she collided with another pedestrian that the brunette finally tore her eyes from her phone. Yuina dropped her cup from the impact—her jaw, on the other hand, dropped at the sight of the familiar blonde hair and glint of metal studs. Her eyes and subconscious mind were playing tricks on her.

"Oh, shit! Sorry, dude."

Nope, she definitely knew that voice. She was looking at Terushima Yuuji. Terushima Yuuji with his arm around a woman. Or maybe she somehow materialized him by thinking about him? Speak of the devil and he shall appear, or so they said after all. Wait. Who was that with him? Her mind raced through a million scenarios in the blink of an eye. Was that his girlfriend? Did he even have a girlfriend? She looked like she must be a little older than them, in university maybe. Was that his type, older women?

By the time she noticed him starting to turn around, it was too late to hide or run.

"Yuina-chan!" Terushima eye's widened. The look of surprise was fleeting and soon replaced with a toothy, carefree grin. He bounded over in a flash, deserting his date at the street corner. And for just an instant, Yuina thought she felt a certain smugness at seeing the woman scowl over his shoulder. She had to be imagining it though, this wasn't a competition. Even if it were she most certainly wouldn't be competing for Terushima Yuuji's attention of all things.

"Running errands?" he inquired cheerfully as he leaned in to peek in the plastic bags hanging off her arms.

Her body instinctively leaned away from his, like magnets being repelled. "Oh, yeah, I'm making lunch for Sakuya tomorrow," she explained, regaining her composure. Should she ask about his lady friend? Or was it rude to ask? But friends could get harmlessly curious and ask something like that, right? Wait, was she even friends with Terushima Yuuji? Besides, why should it matter to her anyway what his relationship with that woman was? It didn't. She wasn't curious. It's not like it made a difference to her whatever Terushima Yuuji was doing with attractive older university girls on the weekends. Not at all.

"Geez, are you his mom or his sister?" Terushima laughed. His eyes widened slightly as he jumped. "Oh shit, your drink!" He had noticed the paper cup rolling idly on the ground and the light brown liquid staining the hem of her skirt.

Yuina opened her mouth to bid him pay no mind, but the voice of the female stranger at the intersection cut through the air. "Yuu-kun? I'm going home," she threatened, the displeasure was plain on her face. Of course, it was time for him to go. Yuina pressed her lips together, waiting for him to turn back around and leave with his leggy female companion.

But Terushima didn't even turn around to spare so much as a glance at his companion. "Huh? Oh, yeah, see you later!" He waved an arm over his head, barely paying any attention to the woman tapping her foot impatiently. The woman's look of disbelief didn't go unnoticed by Yuina, but the subject of her attention didn't even give so much as a peek. Anxiously, the brunette averted her eyes from the cold gaze of the stranger.

"Weren't you, uh… on a date?" Yuina whispered, the urgency rising in her voice as she watched the woman turn on her heels and stomp down the street. "Shouldn't you get back to y—"

"Huh?" The blonde boy who had been crouched over assessing the damage to her skirt looked up at her, confused. He then followed her gaze to the diminishing figure of the older woman down the street. "Ohhh, Rika-chan? We just met at a goukon," he shrugged casually.

Oh. So, she hadn't been a girlfriend? Yuina thought she felt the tension leave her shoulders. Wait, what tension? "In any case," the brunette interjected loudly, mostly for Terushima but also for herself. "She seems upset, shouldn't you go after her?"

The look on Terushima's face was one she hadn't expected. He looked up at her as if completely baffled by her suggestion—like she was asking him to do something that made absolutely no sense. "Why?"

Time and time again, he left her at a loss for words, in more ways than one. And suddenly, as a fellow woman, she felt frustrated on the stranger's behalf. "Why?" she repeated incredulously. Was he seriously asking that question right now? Everything about the older woman's cold behaviour was a cry for his attention. "I mean, you leave a group date together because you're interested in each other, don't you?"

But Terushima, as ever, marched to his own beat. "We hang out, have some fun, and go our separate ways," he shrugged as if it were the most natural thing. His philosophies always seemed to make sense on the surface but the more she thought about them, the less she understood. "That's usually how it goes: you meet a cute girl, have some fun and call it quits on a high note before it gets boring."

Sure, it was the twenty-first century and the concept of casual encounters had become more prevalent than in the past but something about what he was saying upset her. Sure, he was free to live his life how he wished and who was she to impose her unsolicited opinions on his life? But what irritated Yuina more wasn't his flippant attitude, but the fact that she was the one feeling this strange unease at hearing his flaky approach on dating. His views on the disposable nature of relationships may not be one she agreed with, but why was that bothering her so much?

"I'll get you a new drink," the blonde grinned as he casually took the plastic shopping bag out of her hands. Grey eyes quickly flit down to her now empty hands and she experienced a sense of déjà vu at having her luggage snatched out of her hands yet again. By the time Yuina had turned her eyes back toward the blonde with a light scowl, he had already had his back to her. "Ah, I'm kinda broke, though," he mumbled, crossing his arms. "It's just gonna be convenience store stuff, is that okay?"

And again Kikuchi Yuina found herself chasing after Terushima Yuuji and the pace that he dictated. "It's fine, I wasn't drinking it, it was cold anyway," she insisted, catching up to the blonde. He was so stubborn about the strangest things: carrying groceries as payment for a meal, needlessly scrubbing a potato shiny, or replacing a cup of stale hot chocolate.

And as always, Terushima marched to a beat of his own drum as he paved onward heedless of the brunette's protests. "Pretty sure there's a MiniMart around that corner," he muttered as if to himself. He turned the street corner and puffed up his chest proudly. "Oh, man, I'm a genius. I've only been here like once before," he loudly praised his own memory.

Yuina held back a small laugh. It wasn't exactly a difficult task finding a convenience store at the heart of Sendai. Little corner stores were a dime a dozen, it might be harder to path a route that didn't pass by a convenience store. "It's a MiniMart," she announced with an unimpressed smile. "I'm pretty sure you could find one on every second street corner in the city."

Terushima visibly deflated as his brows furrowed. "Yeah, but I was looking for _this_ one," he insisted, his face settling into a pout.

"Right, of course," the brunette nodded with a complete lack of conviction. "Terushima-kun, you have an amazing memory, I'm so impressed you could find this place after you've only been here once," she narrated flatly. Then with a smile, she held out her hand. "Now, may I have my things so I can go home and make tomorrow's lunch, please?"

Face still set in a frown, brown eyes narrowed at her as the boy announced, "Look, I'm holding your groceries hostage until you pick something to drink." He raised a bag a little higher over his head as he took a step backward toward the MiniMart's glass door.

Yuina gave an audible sigh as she tried again to emphasize that she did not need nor want anything. "I was finished drinking that ages ago," she stressed. "It's really not a big deal."

The blonde turned away dramatically with a should-heaving sigh. "Y'know," he began in the most down-trodden tone he could muster, "I was gonna go to karaoke and dinner with Rika-chan, but I gave that up to make it up to you for spilling your drink…" He sagged his shoulders even further if that was even possible. "Here I am giving up my fun plans, trying to do the right thing and Yuina-chan won't even hear me out…"

"Wh—" A baffled look came over Yuina's face. "Well, that's your fault!" she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're the one who made her leave!" What a little drama queen! He was faking all of that! To think he'd go this far with his petty little cry for empathy. She scoffed, hands on her hips at the juvenile display.

But Terushima turned around with a grin. "But she _is_ gone and I'd be suuper bored and lonely if you left too, so you're gonna hang out with me a bit, right?" He held the grocery bag up, swinging it back and forth over her head. Why this calculating little…!

Pointing at her bag of groceries being held hostage in Terushima's hand, Yuina gave a flat glare. "State your ransom, Terushima Yuuji." As she finally relented, the blonde's lips curled up into a familiar mischievous smirk as he proceeded to hide the bag behind his back.

"Two hours, drinks and a walk through the park."

"One hour. A drink and a walk home."

"Deal."

And yet, the grin on his face made her feel like she was still getting the short end of the stick somehow. It was a bargain she had haggled down, and yet the look of joy on his face left her feeling cheated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yuina be like *makes progress* *goes back into denial* Also, don't listen to Terushima's flirting tips, they're actually kind of bad. Terrible, really. So if that's number 41, how much more bad advice does he have...


	17. Genius slacker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Terushima Yuuji confirmed for crouching moron, hidden genius.

Yuina's eyes came to rest on the two minuscule bottles of Yakult set down before her. "You know, usually when a guy offers to buy you a drink, it's in a cute cafe or something." She paused with her eyes still fixed on the tiny, cheap plastic bottles. After a beat had passed, she turned her gaze up to meet a pair of brown eyes. Despite the flat and unimpressed look on her own face, Terushima looked absolutely next to himself with glee. Was he just really into drinkable yogurt or was she missing something?

"Look, I'm practically broke right now," the blonde justified, lowering himself into the open seat next to her. He held a hand behind his back and leaned in slightly with a grin. "Besides, if I'd gotten anything else, I wouldn't have been able to afford this!" In a grand flourish, Terushima procured a plastic-wrapped pastry from behind his back.

She blinked. Apple pie. She was struck with a sense of déjà vu: the image of a convenience store pastry tucked into her shoe locker. It was just a passing glance that lingered a second too long and not only had he picked up on it, but had he also remembered it until now? It was just a cheap convenience store baking and yet the start of a smile gently tugged at the corners of her lips. "It's a different one, though," Yuina stated, bursting his bubble. The specific pastry in question was back out of season, but she had to hand it for him for the effort.

Terushima gave a light groan as he peeled the foil lid off his yakult. "You know, you could just pretend to be a little impressed," his mouth jutted out into a pout as he raised the drink to his lips.

With a suppressed laughter, Yuina opened the small packet laid out before her. "Thanks," she smiled. Then taking the rectangular pastry from its wrapper, she broke it in half and held the other half out toward the blonde, her brows arched slightly as if in suggestion.

"You sure? I got it for you," the blonde replied, eyeing the pastry cautiously.

But Yuina just gave a nonchalant nod as she pushed the piece of apple pie toward the boy. He was the one who got it after all. "I shouldn't ruin my appetite before dinner," she justified as if needing an excuse to split the snack. 'Now I just sound ungrateful,' Yuina mentally slapped herself—but Terushima accepted his half of the pastry with a good-natured shrug as if to say "your loss".

He had taken his first bite of the pastry when his muffled words caught her attention. "What else do you like aside from like, apple strudel and cooking and stuff?"

What a broad question, she contemplated. Nonetheless, Yuina folded her arms across her chest as a thoughtful look crossed her visage. "Matcha soft serve," the brunette began, nodding in satisfaction at her own response. It was always such a deceitfully hard question to answer. What _did_ she like? "Milk tea, raspberries, umm…" Yuina paused, racking her brain for more answers to the seemingly simple question.

"What do you do on weekends?" he posed the question casually, helping Yuina to narrow down some of her responses.

The brunette absentmindedly struck the foil lid of her drink with the small plastic straw as she pondered her answer. It was a harmless question but it suddenly drove home for Yuina the fact that she really didn't do much on her days off. "I guess I'm usually taking care of household chores on the weekends," she mumbled quietly feeling a twinge of embarrassment at how uninteresting her life sounded.

Terushima nodded solemnly as if unsurprised, then rephrased his questions. "Alright, well, what do you _want_ to do in your free time, then?" He grinned wide, leaning into his palm. "Pretend you have all the time in the world and you don't have to take care of everything by yourself all the time for once!"

"I want," she paused, thinking about her answer. "I don't know, to do things other people usually do, I guess." Feeling self-conscious about her answer, she gave a small shrug. Did that sound strange? "I haven't been to see a movie in the theatre in a long time, it'd also be nice to just hang out at a cute cafe, maybe just go window shopping—" Yuina stopped herself short of admitting that she wanted to try attending a goukon. Sure, she was kind of curious about it but she was probably only thinking about it because Terushima had just talked about it. "You know, normal high schooler stuff."

The blonde watched as she took a bite of her pastry. "Alright, then we should do all those things!" he announced loudly out of nowhere, causing her to nearly choke on the apple pie. With Terushima? Did he even realize the kinds of things he said? At least, she could appreciate just the enthusiasm.

Turning the focus of the conversation away from herself, Yuina turned her eyes toward the blonde sitting next to her as she sipped at her drink. "What about you?"

"Karaoke, arcade, batting cages," he paused to think then turned and shot her a grin that stretched from ear to ear, "and anything I can do in the company of a cute girl!" She almost had to wonder why she bothered asking. It all seemed very… on-brand for Terushima Yuuji to spend all his free time playing around to his fullest potential.

Which really begged the question: how did he make the kinds of grades he did? "Don't you ever study?" she inquired cautiously, not sure if she wanted to hear his answer. If he really was just some natural-born genius it might just irritate her even further.

He looked at Yuina as if she was asking a painfully obvious question. "Before bed."

Yuina stared back at his blank expression with one of her own. Did he just say he actually studied before bed? "Every night?" the words left her lips prudently and with a good helping of disbelief.

"Every night," he looked back at her head-on as if answering a simple question. Then popping the remainder of his half of the apple pie into his mouth, he replied as he chewed, "I just kinda skim stuff before I go to bed since it helps me get sleepy. Maybe like ten minutes or somethin'?"

Okay, so what did that make this situation? Yuina's brows furrowed. Ten minutes a day to score in the top ten of your whole grade? But she was also in disbelief that Terushima Yuuji dedicated any time at all (daily, even) to reviews. So was Terushima more serious about his grades than she gave him credit for or was he just a born prodigy after all? "You review ten minutes a day," she repeated, staring holes through her pastry. "And you scored in the top 10 for summer finals?"

Clueless Terushima simply beamed in pride as he leaned in against his palm. "Are you proud?"

No, she was irritated! Yuina studied for hours to get the kind of marks she did and Terushima always did better than her by just "skimming stuff" for ten minutes to fall asleep? "You just said you only study to make yourself sleepy, that's nothing to be proud of!" she reprimanded with a small groan. Terushima Yuuji, genius or slacker, take your pick. Or maybe he was just genius at slacking.

"It's not fun," he argued with a pout, tossing his empty yakult bottle into the trash bin a few feet away. He gave himself a small cheer as the plastic bottle ricocheted against the wall and fell into the bin. "Besides, when are you gonna have some fun in your life if you spend all your best years with your head in a book?"

Yuina propped her elbows up on the counter as she folded her arms. "I mean, maybe I feel like I'm missing out on a bit of the high school experience," she admitted as she thought back to their earlier conversation. "But I study now so that I can relax and enjoy myself later."

"When?" It was a simple, straightforward question but it gave her pause. A short silence followed and Yuina struggled to put together an answer. "You study now so you can get to university, then study to graduate and get a job, then before you know it you're working every day until you retire." Terushima heaved his shoulders and gave an annoyed sigh at the mere prospect. "Who even says studying now will guarantee your future later? I'd rather live for now than some vague "sometime in the future"."

It wasn't that she could say his philosophy was wrong, but Yuina felt again how Terushima Yuuji had such unconventional opinions. Where most people would tread the tried and true path with low risk, Terushima was throwing question marks at the sky and trudging through the unknown because why not?

A small, wistful laugh escaped her lips. "It must be nice to be able to think like that," Yuina spoke quietly, her gaze fixed on the reflection of her empty bottle in the window. A month ago, she may have felt differently but Terushima Yuuji wasn't stupid. He might seem like an airhead but she had witnessed the way he thought about things in his own way. Had she known him any less and she may have figured he was foolish and shortsighted for choosing the present over the future, but maybe it was just that he had a kind of courage she did not.

"You could do it too, you know?" The blonde presented an enticing idea, but it was just that: an idea. The brunette turned to politely shoot him down but was met with that naive grin that stole the words straight out of her mouth. "Yuina-chan, you're super smart and you could stand to slack off a little, you know?" he laughed, it was a simple and direct compliment with no hidden meanings nor pretense. His stool screeched, earning a slight wince from not only Yuina but the convenience store clerk, as he jumped to his feet. His voice was set to max volume again as he pumped his fist in the air. "That's it, we're gonna teach you how to kick back and put your feet up! You ever been to a batting cage?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a shorter chapter and hmm maybe it felt kind of forced? I had to write this in about a dozen separate sittings because I kept getting distracted with holiday stuff so apologies for fluctuating quality ;;;


	18. Hands on

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zombie outbreaks make for good bonding exercises.

Something had changed after that Sports Festival weekend. It was apparent to the beholder, there had been a shift in the atmosphere between Kikuchi Yuina and Terushima Yuuji. It was a small, and maybe trivial, development but people began to notice that the once stoic brunette became more likely to play along with the unruly blonde's banter. They were conversations their classmates had grown used to overhearing and tuning out, but what was usually a one-sided barrage of questions from Terushima were now punctuated with the odd response by Yuina.

It gave people pause. Had Terushima and Kikuchi always been friends? They didn't really have actual conversations before, right? But it's just Terushima. Didn't he kind of talk to everyone, to begin with? Yeah, but  _ Kikuchi _ didn't really talk to  _ anyone _ . Who'd have thought it? That sunshine and rainbows Terushima and the frigid honour student?

"Yuina-chan, what are you doing after school?"

"I've got health committee duties."

"Yuina-chan, can I copy your homework?"

"You have twenty minutes, do it yourself."

"Yuina-chan, do you wanna come watch practice?"

"I'm busy."

They were hardly real conversations, of course. The exchanges still had the feel of being an endless volley of questions to which Yuina would make dry, barebones responses. But a change was a change nonetheless, however minor and subtle. And slowly but surely, it became apparent to the bystander that, inexplicably, Terushima Yuuji had chipped away at Kikuchi Yuina's unflappable armour.

With a dissatisfied look, Terushima Yuuji planted his hand on the brunette's desk. He tapped his fingers impatiently against the wood until she finally looked up to meet his gaze.

"What?" Yuina demanded, returning a defensive frown of her own at the expression on the blonde's face. There he was, barging in and acting all upset before she even had an idea what any of this was all about. Strange as it was to admit, she had gotten used to Terushima as of late. Maybe it was like working up your resistance to a bug, training your immune system. Who knew her prolonged exposure to Terushima Yuuji would have ended up training her resistance to Hurricane Terushima?

The blonde gave a displeased huff as he slapped his hand against the top of Yuina's desk. "It's been two weeks and you're still too busy to hang out!"

She blinked. The initial look of surprise melted away and left her brows slightly furrowed.

"I know there's no health committee this week and Sakuya already told me you don't have to work at the clinic today!" Yuina gave a quiet click of the tongue under her breath. Since when were Terushima and her little brother friends? And what was Sakuya thinking, going around and blabbing about her schedule to anyone who asked? "You just clicked your tongue just now!"

"You're imagining it," she insisted, with an innocent smile.

But he wasn't as easily fooled. "No, you totally just clicked your tongue at me! Yuina-chan are you avoiding me on purpose!?" the blonde demanded loudly as he pressed his weight into his palm on the desk.

"Did not," Yuina reiterated stubbornly.

"Did too!" Suddenly Terushima turned his head to the side. "Hey, Ogi, you heard it too right?" he demanded, calling out to one of their nearby classmates.

The bespectacled boy who sat in front of Yuina turned around, surprised at the sudden call of his name. "Oh, uh, maybe?" the boy uncomfortably gave his noncommittal response as he was unexpectedly dragged into the situation. His eyes shifted nervously between the brunette and the blonde, mentally calculating if he had to pick a side and which was the correct response.

"See?" Terushima dramatically slapped a hand over his chest. "I'm totally heartbroken right now!" He made a display of putting on his most, over the top pitiful expression as he spoke. "Ogi, can you believe how cold Yuina-chan has been to me lately?"

Fingers pressed to her temples, Yuina gave a surrendering sigh. "Alright, fine! It slipped out, I'm sorry," she conceded before Terushima could drive the situation out of control. Ogi Junpei shot her a small smile that was both apologetic and thankful as he took the chance to slip away before Terushima could implicate him in their affairs yet again.

But the blonde wore a doubtful pout. "If you were really sorry, you'd actually hang out with me for once," he mumbled, pointing his chin in the air like a dissatisfied child. Terushima didn't really have any ill intentions, but he was callow and troublesome. Luckily, he was also straightforward and simple-minded—and mollifying an upset Terushima wasn't as difficult as it was tiresome. "You didn't even reply when the rest of us went for burgers last weekend!"

Therein lied the cause of what made a mopey Terushima so troublesome. The little picnic party had gradually evolved into an unlikely group of friends—mostly thanks to the work of the Class 1 trio. And Yuina did seem to recall being invited out for fast food at some point on Saturday evening but she hadn't had the time to properly keep up with the chat with her preparations for final exams and such.

She could always leave him to pout and moan, but Yuina understood enough of Terushima to know that would be more troublesome in the long run. All things considered, she had little choice but to bite the bullet if she wanted to spend the rest of her week in peace. With a small sigh, Yuina turned to the boy standing before her desk. "Okay, I'll go today," she conceded, holding her hands in the air.

Terushima jumped into the air as he threw his arms up in victory.

"But only until dinner, we still have finals in less than a week," Yuina interjected, pointing an accusing finger at the blonde. If she could be home in time for dinner, she should still have time tonight to rewrite her algebra notes and review her classic literature readings.

She was still spacing out thinking about her schedule when the blonde boy cut in with a frown. "Again! You're talking about studying again!" Yuina frowned back. Exams were coming up, of course, she was thinking about studying. In fact, any student should have been worried about school at the end of a term. She was snapped out of her thoughts by a finger being wagged in front of her face. "Rule number one for having fun? Stop thinking about school for a minute."

Yuina sealed her lips in a disapproving look as she zipped up her bag. He made it all sound so easy, so simple. "If it was really that simple, everybody in the world would be happy," her lips curled into a wry smile as skepticism hung like clouds in her eyes.

But Terushima and his one-directional optimism were absolutely infallible. "And that's exactly why we're gonna _teach_ you how to be happy." He gave her a wide grin, flashing a brilliant row of pearly whites. And it was an almost infectious smile.

* * *

She was out of place.

Yuina carefully ran her eyes over the technicolour lights and flashing neons in the dimly lit hall. Despite the fact that it was barely half-past three, the inside of the building was dark save for the fluorescent blue light coming from screens and colourful LED signage. It was loud in a way that made it hard to pinpoint what all the noise was. Was it the effect of bare ceilings? The bustle of people talking all around? Or was the cacophony of chimes and jingles coming from the various machines?

A light-hearted laugh echoed from behind her. Terushima stood with his duffle bag slung over one shoulder as he watched the serious expression on the brunette's face. "What? You've never been in an arcade before?" The blonde, on the other hand, looked perfectly in his element surrounded by bright flashing lights and loud upbeat music.

The tiniest of smirks quirked at the corner of her lips. He'd definitely be the type to go clubbing every night the moment they get into their university years. Ah, she could see it now. A twenty-year-old Terushima Yuuji with all the newfound freedom of being a university student. The life of the party. 

"You thought something rude just now!" The blonde accused pointing at her struggling to keep her grin in check. He wore a dour pout on his face as his brows furrowed and he leaned in closer to scrutinize her expression in the dimly lit arcade.

Yuina turned away as his face got too close for comfort. "I did not!" she insisted, trying to look at anything that wasn't Terushima. Was she such an easy read that he could tell what she was thinking? Had to be a lucky guess. "Anyway, weren't you going to teach me how to "have fun"?" She made a show of drawing quotation marks in the air with her fingers as she reminded him of his declaration.

The blonde continued to give her a skeptical look even as his posture relaxed. She persisted with the most innocent smile she could muster until he finally let out a small sigh and rolled up the sleeves of his uniform shirt. He jerked his head in the direction of an aisle of arcade machines and Yuina followed. "You're not really at the game center until you're fought through a zombie swarm," the boy announced with a grin as he came to stop at a shooting game. He held out one of the plastic guns to her and, even with her reservations, Yuina accepted the object into her hands.

Videogames had always been Sakuya's thing. It wasn't to say she hadn't tried them before, but she found she wasn't very good at them—and usually, having no idea what you're doing didn't tend to make things particularly enjoyable. She shifted the plastic gun in her hands as she studied it dubiously.

"Have you tried a shooting game before?" Terushima asked, setting his bag on the floor next to the machine. Yuina shook her head in response. Honestly, she had stepped into an arcade maybe three times in her entire life before today. "Alright, I'll teach you the controls."

And Yuina wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but what happened next wasn't something she had psychologically prepared for.

A set of arms reached around her from behind, hands closing around her own as she held the plastic gun. His hands were slightly rough, small callouses raised hard ridges on his palms—from volleyball? They were warm to the touch, a lot warmer than her own. His chest was against her back, rising and falling with every breath. "See the reticle on-screen? That shows where you're pointing the gun," his hand gently led hers from side to side, sweeping the crosshairs across the screen to demonstrate. But more distracting was the puffs of air she could feel on her ear every time he spoke. "They spawn around corners a lot."

"R- right," the brunette nodded, hearing him speak words but not really registering what it was he was saying. And try as she might to actually watch the screen, her gaze kept floating back to the sight of his hands on hers just inches from her face. Terushima guided her through various motion commands for reloading, swapping guns and the like. But it was all sort of just a random jumble of information that she was too distracted to process.

Then, as if pleased with his coaching, the blonde leaned in to pop a token into the machine before wrapping over Yuina's again. "Alright, time to try it out!"

Yuina looked over her shoulder. "Wait, like this?" Oh, God, he was a lot closer than she thought. Her cheeks burned up and she whipped her head back around to the screen of the arcade machine. Her eyes darted back and forth dizzyingly between the screen and Terushima's face.

"Yuina-chan, the screen! They're coming!" the blonde urged with a grin, nudging her to turn her attention back on the game. His finger guided hers into pulling the trigger as Yuina, startled by the overexaggerated sound effects of the game, turned the toy gun on one of the badly pixelated zombies on screen. "Ohh, clean headshot!" A whistle went up by her ear and Yuina felt that light puff of air as it grazed against her earlobe.

For every zombie shot, it seemed three more appeared. Panicked by the rapidly multiplying population of videogame monsters on the screen, Yuina's eyes darted back and forth on the screen. Did they want people to win these games or not? How was it fair that there could be over five of them per second against one player? Was this even possible? "Why are there so many!?" She instinctively winced as a decaying arm slashed across the screen, causing the scene to flash red.

She could hear (and quite literally feel against her back) Terushima laugh. "C'mon, c'mon just a little more!" he whined as the monsters quickly overtook the entire stage. It was moments before the words "Game Over" flashed across the screen above a tally of digits calculating the final score.

Yuina groaned as she dropped to the floor, hunched over. She wasn't really one for videogames or horror, but it had been nerve-wracking seeing the screen flood over with badly rendered zombies. "How is anyone supposed to win?" she demanded. It was unrealistic, the rate at which the continued to appear. And to think she was sitting on the floor of an arcade getting upset over 3D zombies.

"How'd you like my arcade entrance ceremony?" Terushima asked with a grin, dropping down on to the floor next to her. He looked so positively pleased with himself, like the cat that swallowed the canary. Was that what she was? The canary?

"It was stressful," Yuina groaned, pressing her palms to her face.

The blonde gave a hearty laugh as he peeled her hands away from her face. "But you're smiling."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It isn't midnight yet where I am so this is the last update of 2019! Happy new years to anyone reading and I hope you've all had wonderful holidays! A few weeks ago I had hoped to align the holiday chapters with the irl dates but I don't write nearly fast enough for that ;;; But since we're wrapping up the winter term, you can expect the winter break/new years chapters soon!


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